Where things stand
• Eyewitnesses have reported violence on the streets of Iran as the country enters its third week of anti-government protests which have spread across all of its 31 provinces. Details are emerging about some of the Iranians killed in a brutal crackdown by security services against the demonstrators.
• US President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following the deadly protests, two officials have told CNN. In a warning to the US, Iran’s parliamentary speaker said American military and commercial bases will be treated as targets for retaliation if Washington does intervene militarily.
• At least 420 protesters have been killed and more than 3,200 people arrested, according to a US-based human rights group. Iran has now been offline for more than 60 hours after the authorities shut down internet access and telephone lines amid the turmoil.
More than 10,000 people arrested during Iran protests, US-based rights group says
More than 10,000 people have been arrested over the past 15 days during anti-regime demonstrations in Iran, a US-based rights group said Sunday.
At least 10,675 people have been arrested, including 169 children, according to a detailed tally provided to CNN by Skylar Thompson, deputy director of Human Rights Activists in Iran (also known as HRA).
HRA’s news arm is called Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
At least 490 protesters have been killed over the same period, according to the group’s latest tally, updated Sunday. CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers or arrest figures.
Demonstrators rally in European capitals in solidarity with Iranian protesters
Demonstrators have taken to the streets in a number of European capital cities this weekend in solidarity with the protesters in Iran.
In London, protesters gathered near Downing Street, the official residence of Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Some were waving pre-revolution Iranian flags, while others were waving flags bearing the logo of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, an Albania-based Iranian dissident group that was removed from the US foreign terrorist organization list in 2012.
Many people were holding signs reading “No to shahs (kings), no to mullahs (clerics).” Others held up placards with photographs of Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah.
Another protester, who gave the name of Azadeh, told Reuters that she believes “democratic change needs to come from within inside Iran.”
In Paris, people marched down a street chanting, playing music and waving Iran’s pre-revolution flag, which features a lion symbol. Some were also waving Israeli flags.
People also took to the streets in Berlin in solidarity with those protesting in Iran. One person was seen holding a placard reading “Women Life Freedom,” a reference to the 2022 protest movement, whilst another held a banner that said “stop execution.”
Protester death toll in Iran climbs to at least 420, US-based HRANA says
We’ve just received another update from the US-based rights group that has been tracking casualty numbers in Iran amid widespread anti-regime protests in the country.
At least 420 protesters have been killed during the demonstrations over the past 15 days, including eight children, according to a detailed tally provided to CNN by Skylar Thompson, deputy director of Human Rights Activists in Iran (also known as HRA).
HRA’s news arm is called Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
This is a dramatic increase on the previous toll of 162 provided earlier today. CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers.
Pope prays for "dialogue and peace" in Iran after Angelus prayer
Pope Leo has said today that he prays for “dialogue and peace” in Iran, addressing crowds in the Vatican following his Angelus prayer.
Other international figures have also spoken out about Iran today, with Finnish President Alexander Stubb urging Iranian authorities to “refrain from using violence against their own people and respect freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.”
“Aggression must stop,” he posted on X. “We call for the release of all unjustly detained demonstrators.
Ireland’s Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said she is “deeply concerned” by what is going on in Iran, including the “reports of the repression of peaceful protesters.”
Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also posted to X, saying that his country “see(s) the people of Iran and frankly we wish them much success. We support their struggle for freedom. We think they deserve freedom. We think they deserve a better future.” He added that, though Israel doesn’t have “any hostility with the people of Iran,” it has a “huge problem” with the Iranian regime.
Trump briefed on US plans for military intervention in Iran amid protests
US President Donald Trump is weighing a series of potential military options in Iran following deadly protests in the country, two US officials have told CNN, as he considers following through on his recent threats to strike the country should they use lethal force against the Iranian people.
Trump was briefed in recent days on different plans for intervention, the officials told CNN, as violence in the country has led to dozens of deaths and arrests.
Some of the discussions have also included options that do not involve direct US military force, one of the officials said.
The president has not yet made a final decision on intervention, the officials said, but he is seriously considering action as the death toll in Iran continues to rise.
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that 116 people have been killed since protests erupted across all 31 of Iran’s provinces two weeks ago. It remains unclear whether HRANA’s tally fully captures the scale of casualties, given the authorities’ nationwide shutdown of internet access and telephone lines.
Iranian attorney general says legal action against protesters will be conducted "without mercy"
Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad said yesterday that legal proceedings against protesters will be carried out “without leniency, mercy or appeasement,” according to the semi-official news agency Tasnim.
The attorney general said that “all criminals are enemies in this matter.”
Remember: Tehran’s prosecutor said Friday that acts of vandalism targeting public property will be considered “moharebeh,” translated as “waging war against God,” according to Tasnim.
The punishment for moharebeh includes execution.
Iranian protesters describe violent clampdown by authorities in Tehran
Several Iranians who protested in Tehran over the past few days have spoken to CNN about what they have witnessed, describing enormous crowds and feelings of hope, as well as brutal violence and scores of dead bodies.
A woman in her mid-60s and a 70-year-old man described seeing people of all ages out in the streets of the Iranian capital on Thursday and Friday.
On Friday night, however, security forces brandishing military rifles killed “many people,” they said.
Other demonstrators in a different neighborhood of Tehran told CNN that they helped a man in his mid-60s who had been severely injured in the crackdown. He had around 40 pellets lodged in his legs and had a broken arm, they said.
They tried to get the man medical help at several different hospitals but said that the situation was “completely chaotic.” One woman described seeing “bodies piled up on each other” in the hospital.
Others told CNN that the number of people out on the streets was incomparable to anything they had ever experienced before, describing the scenes as “unbelievably beautiful and hopeful.”
A televised speech by the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Friday night changed this atmosphere. Shortly afterward, the crackdown turned incredibly violent, the protesters said.
At least 162 protesters killed in Iran over past two weeks, US-based rights group says
At least 162 protesters have been killed over the past 15 days during anti-government demonstrations in Iran, a US-based rights group has said.
As of Sunday, at least 203 have died in the protests in total, including 41 security personnel, according to a detailed tally provided to CNN by Skylar Thompson, deputy director of Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
At least eight of the protesters killed were under 18, HRANA said. The group also reported that at least 3,285 people had been arrested.
It remains unclear whether HRANA’s tally fully captures the scale of casualties, given the authorities’ nationwide shutdown of internet access and telephone lines.
CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers.
"Never, ever seen such a thing." Iran's internet shutdown is unprecedented in its reach, expert says
The internet blackout in Iran is unprecedented in its reach and has affected “every single channel of communication,” according to a cybersecurity expert.
Amir Rashidi, director of cybersecurity and digital rights at Iran-focused human rights organization Miaan Group, told CNN Sunday he had “never, ever seen such a thing.”
While authorities in Iran have imposed internet shutdowns in the past, the most recent blackout has some key differences, Rashidi said.
Meanwhile, Rashidi said the ongoing blackout has shut down Iran’s domestic internet network, as well as emails, some websites and other lines of communication.
Even media outlets affiliated with the Iranian state and security apparatus appear to have been hit by the shutdown, with significantly fewer frequent updates than usual since the blackout began, if any.
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at network intelligence platform Kentik, which studies internet disruptions, agreed that the ongoing shutdown feels different to previous years.
CNN’s Mostafa Salem contributed to this report.
Who is Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah?
We’ve reported today on remarks made by Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution. He said US President Donald Trump is “ready to help” protesters in Iran in the face of a brutal government crackdown.
Among the slogans chanted by demonstrators in the last two weeks, many have been calling for the return of the country’s monarchy.
“This is the last battle. Pahlavi will return,” demonstrators were seen shouting in video reviewed by CNN. “Javid Shah (long live the king)!” they cried. “Reza Shah, God bless your soul!”
Pahlavi is the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, the Persian word for king.
Based in the US, he has sought to position himself as a de facto leader, declaring support for the protests and issuing direct calls for coordinated nationwide action.
Pahlavi’s father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted during Iran’s 1979 revolution. Pahlavi was aged 16 at the time.
In the years since, support for the deposed monarchy became taboo in Iran. Analysts say that it is unclear what might be driving the renewed excitement for the royal family in Iran.
Arash Azizi, an academic and author of the book “What Iranians Want,” told CNN that, while Pahlavi “has turned himself into a frontrunner in Iranian opposition politics,” he is also a “divisive figure and not a unifying one.”
The rallying around Pahlavi is the surest sign, analysts say, that Iran’s Islamic Republic appears to have hit a dead-end.
“Iranians aren’t opting for (Pahlavi) because he is present in the community but because they are despondent,” said Vali Nasr, an Iran expert and professor at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies.
Watch more about Pahlavi below and read about him in our full profile here.
Nearly 50 years after Iran’s revolution, the son of the ousted Shah of Iran is drawing renewed attention as protests spread. CNN’s Jomana Karadsheh explains the significance.
Here's what happened during Iran's 2009 Green Movement
Several Iranian protesters spoken to by CNN in recent days have compared the country’s current demonstrations to the 2009 Green Movement.
The movement, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), saw “millions of Iranians take to the streets demanding democracy and more.”
People were protesting against the country’s 2009 presidential election, after accusations of widespread fraud. One of the movement’s key mottos was “Where is my vote?”
The demonstrations went on for months. In a response similar to that being seen in Iran right now, the internet was blocked, according to eyewitnesses CNN spoke to at the time, with authorities clamping down on dissent with violence and arrests.
According to CNN reporting at the time, a number of deaths and serious injuries were reported as a result of “brutality from security forces.”
Mehdi Karrubi, who was a candidate in Iran’s 2009 elections and one of the leaders of the Green Movement, told CNN in 2010 that “the elections started with excitement and joy, and most people came forward because they wanted change.”
Eventually, after many months, people stopped protesting “because of the brutal repression in the streets, the huge number of unjust arrests and inhumane behavior in prisons,” Karrubi told CNN in 2010.
Israeli military says it is “monitoring developments” in Iran, will be ready to “respond with power” if needed
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said Sunday it is “monitoring developments” in Iran as the country enters its third week of anti-government protests.
“We will be equipped to respond with power if need be. The IDF will continue to operate to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to convene a limited security consultation Sunday evening, with developments in Iran and Lebanon high on the agenda, according to an Israeli source.
Israel supports the Iranian protesters’ “struggle for freedom” and strongly condemns the “mass slaughter of innocent civilians,” Netanyahu said Sunday at the opening of a cabinet meeting.
Death toll after days of protests in Iran is "significant," state-affiliated media says
The death toll from days of protests in Iran has been “significant,” a state-affiliated news agency linked to the security establishment reported today, citing an “informed source.”
Protesters continue to pour onto the streets across Iran’s provinces, rallying against the regime and a sharp decline in living conditions. Over the past two days, Iranians have answered the call of the exiled son of the country’s last shah, or king, staging widespread demonstrations even as the government launches a brutal crackdown.
The exact death toll remains unclear after days of protests, amid a near-total communications blackout, though even state-affiliated outlets tied to the security apparatus, such as Tasnim News Agency, acknowledged a high number of fatalities.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that 116 people have been killed since protests erupted across all 31 of Iran’s provinces two weeks ago. It remains unclear whether HRANA’s tally fully captures the scale of casualties, given the authorities’ nationwide shutdown of internet access and telephone lines.
CNN cannot independently verify the figures from activist groups, and Iranian officials have not released any official casualty updates.
In a report today, Tasnim claimed widespread attacks have been carried out against civilian targets by those it dubbed foreign-backed terrorists. Authorities have sought to differentiate between economic protesters and those calling for regime change, branding the latter as “rioters” and foreign-backed “mercenaries” while pledging a tougher crackdown against them.
Dozens were arrested across Iran as violent protests continued last night. In one province alone, Lorestan, at least 100 people were detained, state media said citing police. Several videos published on Iranian media showed dozens of men arrested, lined up and blindfolded facing the wall, with some weeping.
In more than two weeks of protests, more than 100 members of Iran’s security forces have been killed, according to Tasnim. In Isfahan, one of Iran’s largest provinces, state media reported that 30 security personnel died, without specifying a time frame. In Kermanshah, state-affiliated Mehr News Agency said six members of the Basij paramilitary force, used to suppress demonstrations, were killed.
A student, a bodybuilder and a father of three among those killed in protests, rights groups report
Details are emerging about the Iranians killed in the violent crackdown by security forces on anti-government protests sweeping the country.
Robina Aminian, a 23-year-old fashion student, was among those reported killed by gunfire in Tehran on Thursday, according to Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organization.
Originally from Nowdesheh in the western Iranian province of Kermanshah, Aminian had been studying fashion at Tehran Shariati Technical University, according to Hengaw.
Posts from her social media profile show her modelling traditional Kurdish outfits and another activist group, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO (IHRNGO), said she left college to join the protests.
She was “a young woman full of joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the violent repression of the Islamic Republic,” said the NGO, citing sources close to the young student.
Mehdi Zatparvar, a former champion bodybuilder and coach, was killed on Friday during protests in the city of Rasht in Gilan province in northwestern Iran, Hengaw reported.
The 39-year-old athlete was a two-time World Classic Bodybuilding champion, according to the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation. Zatparvar held a master’s degree in sports physiology, and was widely regarded as an experienced coach in Gilan, Hengaw said.
Zatparvar wrote in his most recent Instagram post, “We only want our rights, the voice that has been stifled for 40 years must be shouted out,” according to the pro-reform outlet IranWire. His Instagram account has now been taken down.
Ebrahim Yousefi, a 42-year-old father-of-three, was reportedly killed on Thursday by gunfire during a protest in the city of Kermanshah, according to Hengaw. A family member confirmed Yousefi’s death to the rights group, which said his body has yet to be handed over to his family.
CNN has been unable to independently verify these reports due to the ongoing communications blackout in Iran, and has sought comment from Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Correction: An earlier version of this post misstated the whereabouts of Kermanshah in Iran.
Iranian president calls on citizens not to join "rioters and terrorists" in protests
More now from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has urged his country’s citizens not to join what he called “rioters and terrorists” participating in demonstrations across Iran, calling on parents not to allow their children to participate in the action.
In a televised speech made today, he said there was a difference between people peacefully protesting and the “rioters” who set out to “disrupt the entire society.”
Addressing Iran’s youth, Pezeshkian told them “not to be deceived by these rioters and terrorists,” adding: “I tell families not to let their young people join the rioters and terrorists. These people are trained.”
The so-called “rioters” have set fire to a bank, a mosque, a fire truck, a market and private homes, the president said.
“Protest,” he told the country. “We must listen to your protest and address your concerns, sit together, join hands and solve it,” he said.
A closer look at the Iranian regime amid widespread protests
In 1979, Iran’s monarchy was overthrown in an Islamic Revolution, bringing the country’s first Supreme Leader Ayatollah Rouhallah Khomeini into power.
Following Khomeini’s death in 1989, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei took his place, where he has been ruling the country for nearly four decades. As Supreme Leader, Khamenei has ultimate authority over all state and religious affairs.
Inheriting a nation that was wrecked and regionally isolated by its war by Iraq, a younger Khamenei faced the daunting task of resurrecting his fractured economy and society.
In the years since, he has developed a familiar playbook to interact with the international community: churning out missiles and drones, scrambling to rebuild battered regional proxies, and refusing Western preconditions for negotiations.
But Khamenei’s main external leverage points – an advanced nuclear program and a network of proxy groups encircling Israel – are now paralyzed, following US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, as well as the substantial weakening of its proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, related to Israel’s war in Gaza.
Iran's president blames unrest on foreign-linked "terrorists"
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has blamed his country’s ongoing unrest on foreign-linked “terrorists”, who he said were burning bazaars, mosques and cultural sites.
Pezeshkian said last year’s 12-day war between Israel and Iran had led his country “into chaos.”
“They are burning and killing innocent people on the scene and this is not something that was accepted,” he added.
Iranian authorities could be "jamming" Starlink terminals, expert says
Iranian authorities could be jamming Starlink terminals to further isolate the country amid an ongoing communications blackout, according to an expert who studies internet disruptions.
Starlink is a US-based service, owned by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It delivers mobile broadband via a network of orbiting satellites.
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at network intelligence platform Kentik, raised the possibility that the government is carrying out “some sort of electronic warfare to try to disrupt those Starlink signals.”
Some Starlink users in Iran are experiencing high degrees of “packet loss,” which indicates their signal could be “getting jammed,” Madory said.
Even though the Iranian regime opposes the use of Starlink in the country, Madory said that people have managed to smuggle in terminals.
Protesters across Iran have described scenes of violence in the streets and chaos in hospitals
People in at least 180 cities across Iran have taken to the streets in recent days to protest against the country’s current regime, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Though the demonstrations were initially “unbelievably beautiful and hopeful” according to one person, authorities cracked down violently on those protesting on Friday night, eyewitnesses have said.
Here’s what some protesters told CNN about the violence they have seen in Iran:
- A woman in her mid-60s and a 70-year-old man described seeing people of all ages out in the streets of the Iranian capital on Thursday and Friday. On Friday night, however, security forces brandishing military rifles killed “many people,” they said.
- An Iranian social worker who attended a protest in Tehran on Friday described seeing authorities firing at protesters. “Bullets, who knows, tear gas, whatever you can think of, they would fire them,” she said. “And it was very terrifying.” She also said that she witnessed a girl being shocked in the neck with an electric device “until she passed out.”
- Scenes inside hospitals have been described by a number of witnesses as “chaotic.” One woman in Tehran described seeing “bodies piled up on each other” in the hospital, while an Iranian doctor in the northeastern city of Neyshabur said injured people were “terrified” they would be identified as a protester when seeking treatment.
- Mohammad Lesanpezeshki, a Chicago doctor educated in Tehran, told CNN his friends working in Iranian hospitals are overwhelmed. A doctor at one hospital was “crying on the phone because they have no blood supplies,” he said. His friends also told him that an eye hospital in Tehran experienced a particular surge in patients with pellets lodged in their eyes, with roughly 200 to 300 patients.
CNN’s Max Saltman, Kareem El Damanhoury and Hira Humayun contributed to this reporting.
Son of Iran’s last shah says Trump is “ready to help” protesters
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah ousted by the 1979 Islamic Revolution, has said that US President Donald Trump is “ready to help” protesters in Iran as anti-government demonstrations spread across the country.
“Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you. I know that I will soon be by your side,” he added.
Pahlavi said Sunday that “reliable reports” indicate the Islamic Republic is “facing a severe shortage of mercenaries to confront the millions of people in the streets.” CNN cannot independently verify this claim.
On Saturday, he called for a two-day strike across the country.
For context: President Donald Trump said Saturday the US is ready to help the Iranian people — without spelling out what that help might look like — posting a message on Truth Social in solidarity with those standing up to the Iranian regime.
