President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Iranians to continue nationwide protests, saying support was on the way as Tehran faced its most serious internal crisis in years.
“Iranian patriots, keep protesting. Take over your institutions. Help is on its way,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that he had cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the killing of protesters stopped.
The demonstrations, driven by worsening economic conditions, have erupted across Iran and now represent the biggest challenge to the clerical leadership since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Iranian officials acknowledged that around 2,000 people have been killed during two weeks of unrest, though authorities blamed what they described as terrorist elements for the violence.
The US based HRANA rights group said it verified 2,003 deaths, including 1,850 protesters and several minors. The United Nations rights chief Volker Turk said he was horrified by the violence and demanded an immediate end to repression, urging Iran to restore internet access and protect peaceful demonstrators.
Trump escalated economic pressure by announcing 25 percent tariffs on any country doing business with Iran. The decision drew criticism from China, Iran’s largest oil customer. Trump also repeated that military options remain on the table, saying the United States is “locked and loaded.”
Russia sharply condemned Washington’s stance, calling it subversive interference in Iran’s internal affairs and warning that further aggression could destabilize the entire Middle East.
Despite the crackdown, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz predicted the Iranian government was nearing its end, saying the regime cannot survive if it depends solely on violence. Iran’s foreign minister rejected those remarks, accusing Germany of hypocrisy and political bias.
While Iran’s security leadership has shown no public fractures so far, the scale of protests, rising death toll, and growing international pressure have created unprecedented uncertainty about the country’s political future.
