Armed Iran protesters battle police in Tehran streets as Trump warns of forceful US response
Armed protesters clashed Friday with security forces in the Tehranpars neighborhood of Iran’s capital, as nationwide two-week-long anti-regime demonstrations became more violent in the country.
Repeated gunfire could be heard for minutes in cellphone video sent to Iranian TV and shared with Fox News Digital as Iran’s State Security Forces clashed with so-called “rebellious youth.”
In the video, people on the streets were seen running and shouts of “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “Shame on you!” and “We are all together!” could be heard.
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The protests entered their 14th day on Saturday, with 65 killed, including children, and 2,311 arrested by Friday, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran.
Authorities imposed a sweeping internet blackout this week that largely cut the country off from the outside world and escalated threats of harsh punishment while anti-regime protests spread.
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The protests expanded to 190 cities in Iran by Saturday, according to the National Council of Resistance in Iran.
“By defending the demonstrators, the rebellious youths did not allow the flames of the uprising to be extinguished,” dissident politician Maryam Rajavi said in a statement. ” They have shown their determination to triumph over the regime.”
At a news conference in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump said Iran was facing mounting pressure as unrest spreads across the country.
“Iran’s in big trouble,” Trump said. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago. We’re watching the situation very carefully.”
Trump warned that the U.S. would respond forcefully if the regime resorts to mass violence.
“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts. And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts,” he said.
As of Saturday, Lufthansa, flydubai, Turkish Airlines, AJet, Pegasus, Qatar Airways and Austrian Airlines had all suspended flights to Iran.
Fox News’ Efrat Lachter and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.
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