Anti-government protests in Iran turn violent, more than 2,000 dead…Ali Larijani blames Trump and Netanyahu

Anti-government protests in Iran have turned into their most violent yet, with the death toll surpassing 2,000. Meanwhile, Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani in a statement on Tuesday described US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the “chief murderers” of the Iranian people. Larijani’s statement came after Trump canceled all planned meetings with Iranian officials in support of the protesters and called on the protesters to occupy government institutions.

“We declare the names of the real murderers of the Iranian people: first Trump and second Netanyahu,” Larijani said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He alleged that America and Israel are promoting instability and violence in Iran.

Trump’s warning and Iran’s situation

Earlier, Donald Trump shared a post on ‘Dund Social’ and told the protesters, “Iranian patriots, keep protesting, occupy your institutions, help is coming.” However, Trump did not clarify in what form this help would be. Along with this, Trump gave a strict warning to Iran in an interview and said that if Iran starts hanging protesters, America will take strict action. Trump also made it clear that he will not hold any level of talks with Iran until the killings of protesters stop.

Violence and conflict increase in Iran, human rights organizations worried

According to human rights organizations and local reports, the situation in Iran has worsened over the past two weeks. Activists say 2,003 people have been killed so far, while some international sources claim the death toll could be between 12,000 and 20,000. Iranian state television indirectly acknowledged the deaths for the first time, saying there were many martyrs in the country.

The main reason for the anger of the protesters is the country’s declining economy and devaluation of the currency, which has given rise to the demand for regime change. Recently there were reports that Iran wants to negotiate with America, but Trump’s latest stance has ended these possibilities. Apart from this, Trump has also announced that 25% import duty will be imposed on countries that trade with Iran.