Protesters in Iran defied a government crackdown on Saturday night, taking to the streets despite medics at two hospitals telling the BBC more than 100 bodies have been brought in over a two day period.
Videos verified by the BBC and eyewitness accounts appeared to show the government was ramping up its response.
Iran’s attorney general said anyone protesting would be considered an “enemy of God” – an offence that carries the death penalty.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to hit Iran “very hard” if they “start killing people”. Iran’s parliament speaker warned that if the US attacks Iran, Israel and all US military and shipping bases in the region would be legitimate targets.
The protests were sparked by soaring inflation, and have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across every province in Iran. Now protesters are calling for an end to the clerical rule of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei has dismissed demonstrators as a “bunch of vandals” seeking to “please” Trump.
Trump on Saturday said the US “stands ready to help” as Iran “is looking at FREEDOM”.
As protests intensify, the number of deaths and injuries continues to rise. Two human rights groups have reported more than 100 people, including security personnel, killed.
Staff at several hospitals told the BBC they have been overwhelmed with the injured and dead, with BBC Persian verifying 70 bodies brought to one hospital in Rasht city on Friday night and a health worker reporting around 38 people dying at a Tehran hospital.
Credit: bbc.com
