‘The streets are full of blood’: Iranian protests gather momentum as regime cracks down
The Guardian••nation
Key Points:
- Protests erupted across Iran following a sharp currency depreciation, with thousands marching nightly and chanting against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling for the return of the Pahlavi dynasty.
- Security forces responded with violent crackdowns, including shootings at unarmed protesters and raids on hospitals, resulting in at least 538 deaths and over 10,600 arrests, according to human rights groups.
- The Iranian government imposed an internet blackout and cut international communications to suppress information flow, while officials shifted from conciliatory rhetoric to threats of death sentences for protesters accused of foreign backing.
- Despite the crackdown and communication restrictions, videos and messages documenting the protests and state violence emerged, fueling hope among diaspora and opposition figures that the regime could be toppled
