Anti-government protests have erupted across Iran in a wave of unrest that marks the biggest challenge to the regime in years.
The protests began around two weeks ago over rampant inflation but have since spread to more than 180 cities and towns across the country, morphing into general protests against the regime.
An ongoing communications shutdown, which experts say is unprecedented in its scale, was imposed by authorities last week and has mostly isolated the country from the outside world.
More than 2,400 protesters have been killed and at least 18,470 people have been arrested since Iran launched a crackdown on the dissent, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s figures.
US President Donald Trump said his administration is monitoring the deadly protests, and he declared in a message Tuesday that “help is on its way” for protesters. On Wednesday, he declined to take military action off the table, telling reporters that while he’s been informed Iran has “no plan for executions,” his administration will wait and see.
Here are some of the stories that made headlines over the past week, as well as some photos that caught our eye.
