Violence surrounding ongoing demonstrations in Iran has claimed two more lives, authorities confirmed on Saturday, raising the official death toll to at least ten. The fatalities come just a day after US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran's leadership.
Escalating Violence and US Threats
The latest deaths mark a significant escalation in the weeklong protests, which represent the largest wave of public dissent in Iran since the 2022 demonstrations triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. President Trump warned on Friday that if Iran's government 'violently kills peaceful protesters,' the United States 'will come to their rescue.' He added the provocative statement: 'We are locked and loaded and ready to go.'
While the mechanism of any potential American intervention remains unclear, Trump's comments prompted an immediate and angry response from officials within Iran's theocracy, who threatened to target US troops stationed in the Middle East.
Details of the Latest Fatalities
The two new fatalities occurred overnight into Saturday. According to the state-owned IRAN newspaper, a man was killed by a grenade explosion in the holy city of Qom, home to major Shiite seminaries. Security officials alleged the victim was carrying the explosive to attack others in the city, located roughly 130 kilometres south of Tehran.
Separately, in the town of Harsin in Kermanshah province, a member of the Basij—the volunteer arm of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard—was killed in an attack involving guns and knives. Online videos from Qom purportedly showed street fires burning overnight, indicating continued unrest.
Roots of the Unrest and Government Response
The protests, which have now spread to over 100 locations across 22 of Iran's 31 provinces according to activists, are rooted in severe economic hardship. The Iranian rial has collapsed in value, with $1 now costing approximately 1.4 million rials, sparking the initial public anger.
Although the current demonstrations have not yet reached the scale or intensity of the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests—which were ignited by her death in police custody over hijab rules—they have increasingly featured chants against the country's ruling theocracy.
Iran's reformist President, Masoud Pezeshkian, has signalled a desire to negotiate with protesters but has acknowledged his government's limited power to swiftly rectify the economic crisis. The situation has been exacerbated by the aftermath of June's war with Israel and subsequent US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
In a recent bid to ease international sanctions, Tehran announced it had halted uranium enrichment at all sites within the country, a move aimed at opening potential negotiations with the West. However, no such talks have materialised, as both President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continue to warn Iran against reviving its atomic programme.
