Trump urges Iran protesters to persist as death toll rises

U.S. President Donald Trump urged Iranians to continue protests against the regime of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as activist groups warned that thousands may have been killed in more than two weeks of violent unrest.

“KEEP PROTESTING - TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social on Tuesday, saying he’d canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the killing of demonstrators stops. “HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” he added, without specifying what that meant.

At an event later in the Detroit area, the U.S. president told reporters they are “going to have to figure out” his intentions, but that he encouraged U.S. citizens and people from allied countries to leave Iran.

“I think they should get out,” Trump said.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that at least 2,000 people have died in the Iranian upheaval, making it the deadliest wave of protests in the Islamic Republic in decades and the most severe threat yet to Khamenei’s rule.

Of those killed, 1,850 were protesters, 135 were government-affiliated, nine were children, and nine were other civilians not participating in the protests, the HRANA said.

The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group earlier warned the “risk of mass and extrajudicial executions of protesters is extremely serious.” The organization said one demonstrator, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, could be executed on Wednesday, less than a week after his arrest in the city of Fardis.

The IHR said the death toll could be more than 6,000.

Concern about the scale of fatalities is mounting as Trump moved to further isolate Tehran over the violence. His call on protesters to continue their campaign — which began late last year over rising living costs before dramatically escalating — followed his Monday move to impose a 25% tariff on goods from countries “doing business” with Iran.

That may impact a range of countries with trading relationships with the Islamic Republic, led by China, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

‘Final days’

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz predicted that the Islamic Republic is in its “final days” and “effectively finished,” according to comments on Tuesday during a visit to India.

Iran’s government hasn’t given any figures for civilian deaths and the state broadcaster, which has an effective monopoly on domestic news services, has repeated official claims that “terrorists and rioters” killed scores of security forces amid a continued internet blackout.

In one video that’s been verified by the BBC as coming from a mortuary on the outskirts of Tehran, at least 180 bodies can be seen. HRANA reported that almost 17,000 people had been detained in connection with protests.

A video purportedly from downtown Tehran, near the city’s Enghelab Square, which has hosted pro-government rallies, appeared to show hundreds of protesters chanting against Khamenei overnight on Monday. Another video showed protesters gathering in Tehran’s main cemetery, chanting slogans.

Unrest across Iran intensified sharply from Thursday through the weekend, drawing hundreds of thousands to the streets, calling for the downfall of Khamenei. Despite a sweeping crackdown and state-organized rallies challenging the unrest, it remains unclear how long the calm claimed by authorities will hold while the underlying drivers of the protests remain unresolved.

State-run IRIB News reported on Tuesday that authorities had seized “a large consignment of electronic equipment used for espionage and sabotage,” including what appeared in footage to be Starlink kits.

On Tuesday, foreign exchange tracking websites showed the rial trading at around 1.45 million to the U.S. dollar, roughly the same level that initially sparked protests among traders in Tehran on Dec. 28. Soaring inflation has made it increasingly difficult for millions of Iranians to afford basic food items, and a $7 handout to households is unlikely to ease living costs.

The NetBlocks group, which monitors global internet connectivity, said Tuesday that a nationwide internet shutdown in Iran had entered its fifth day, cutting off millions from global online services. Reports said some citizens were able to make international calls as of Tuesday morning.

Trump has called on Starlink — which some Iranians already use, despite it being banned in the country — to help restore communication.

Connecting Iran to the internet via Elon Musk’s service won’t be easy. Owning a Starlink terminal is illegal, so equipment would have to be smuggled in. The military is also working to jam Starlink and is hunting down any users, according to Amir Rashidi, director of digital rights and security at Internet human rights group Miaan Group.

An unspecified number of protesters have been taken to court and charged with “moharabeh” — or taking up arms in order to cause fear — which under Iran’s Islamic penal code carries the death penalty, the semi-official Tasnim news reported on Tuesday, citing Tehran’s chief prosecutor.

In a brief video statement on Tuesday, Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s former Shah, urged workers in the telecommunications industry, without elaboration, to “target” the country’s information infrastructure to restore international internet access.

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(With assistance from Eltaf Najafizada, Patrick Sykes, Loni Prinsloo, Yasufumi Saito, Catherine Lucey and Justin Sink.)

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