Iranian protesters refuse to crack down on video of violent clashes

Protesters in Iran took to the streets on Saturday night to defy the government’s deadly crackdown, despite reports that hundreds of people have been killed or injured by security forces over the past three days.

Confirmed footage and witness statements seen by the BBC appear to show the government is stepping up its response as a general internet blackout continues.

Justice Minister Mohammad Movahedi Azad said Saturday that anyone protesting would be considered an “enemy of God” and a crime punishable by death.

Hundreds of protesters are believed to have been arrested since protests began more than two weeks ago.

Protests sparked by soaring inflation have spread to more than 100 cities and towns across Iran. Now protesters are demanding an end to the clerical rule of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei dismissed the protesters as “a bunch of saboteurs” trying to “please” US President Donald Trump.

The Iranian government shut down the internet to prevent protests. Iran’s data infrastructure is tightly controlled by state and security authorities. Internet access is mostly limited to domestic intranets and connections to the outside world are limited.

Over the past few years, governments have been gradually reducing access to the internet around the world. But in this protest, authorities not only blocked global internet access for the first time, but also severely restricted domestic intranets.

An expert told BBC Persia that the current lockdown is more severe than the one imposed during the Women, Life and Freedom uprising three years ago. Internet researcher Alireza Manafi said Iran’s Internet access was “almost completely disrupted” in any form.

He added that the only way to connect to the outside world is through Starlink, but warned users to exercise caution as such connections could potentially be tracked by governments.

Most international media outlets, including the BBC, are also unable to report from inside Iran, making it difficult to obtain and verify information.

Nonetheless, some footage was released and the BBC spoke to people at the scene.

Confirmed footage from Saturday night shows protesters occupying the streets of Tehran’s Gisha district. Several videos recently verified and confirmed by BBC Verification show clashes between protesters and security forces on Vakil Abad Boulevard in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city.

Masked protesters can be seen hiding behind wheelie bins and bonfires, while security forces can be seen lined up in the distance. A vehicle that appears to be a bus bursts into flames.

Multiple gunshots and the sound of pots and pans being banged are heard as a green laser beam illuminates the scene.

In the video, a figure can be seen standing on a nearby footbridge and several gunshots appear to be fired in multiple directions while two people hide behind a fence next to the main street.

Another video also appeared in the capital Tehran. A video verified by BBC Verification shows a large group of protesters and the sound of pots banging in Pounak Square, west of Tehran, which has been one of the centers of protests this week.

Another video, filmed in the Heravi district northeast of Tehran and seen by BBC Persian and BBC Verification, shows crowds of protesters marching on a road and demanding an end to the clerical system.

President Trump wrote on social media Saturday: “Iran is looking at freedom like never before. America is ready to help!!!”

He did not give details, but US media reported that President Trump had been briefed on options for a military strike inside the United States. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that a briefing took place, and the Journal described it as a ‘preliminary discussion.’ An unnamed official told the WSJ that there was no “imminent threat” to Iran, the newspaper reported.

Last year, the United States carried out airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham posted several times on social media in support of the protests, writing: “To the people of Iran: Your long nightmare will soon be over.”

The US president said he “recognized” their “courage and determination to end oppression.” “Help is on the way,” he added in the same post.

Earlier, he said: “I say to the leadership of the regime: your brutality against the great people of Iran will not be challenged.”

As dawn broke in Iran on Sunday, Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, posted a video to

The caption reads: “Know that you are not alone. Your compatriots around the world are proudly raising their voices… In particular, President Trump, the leader of the free world, has carefully observed your indescribable courage and announced that he is ready to help you.”

“I know I will be with you soon,” he added.

The US-based Pahlavi has been urging people to take to the streets and said he too was preparing to return to his home country.

He claimed that the Islamic Republic faces a “serious shortage of mercenaries” and that “many armed forces and security forces have left their jobs or disobeyed orders to suppress the people.” The BBC has been unable to verify these claims.

Pahlavi encouraged people to continue protesting on Sunday evening but not to “risk their lives” and to stay in groups or with crowds.

Amnesty International said it was analyzing distressing reports that security forces had stepped up their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters since Thursday.

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said those who speak out against Khamenei’s government should not face “threats of violence or reprisal.”

Since Friday night, staff at three hospitals have told the BBC that casualties are too high. The BBC Persian service confirmed on Friday night that 70 bodies had been taken to a hospital in the city of Rasht.

BBC Persian has confirmed the identities of 26 dead, including six children. Security forces were also killed, and a human rights group put the death toll at 14.

Staff at a hospital in Tehran described horrifying scenes as there were so many injured that staff did not have time to perform CPR and the morgue did not have enough space to store the bodies of the dead.

“About 38 people died, many as soon as they arrived in the emergency room… young people were shot directly in the head and heart. Many of them never even made it to the hospital.”

Hospital officials said the dead and injured were young people. “You couldn’t see many of them. They were 20 to 25 years old.”

The protests are the most widespread since the 2022 uprising, sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained by morality police for not wearing her hijab properly.

More than 550 people have been killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months, according to human rights groups.

Additional reporting by Soroush Pakzad and Roja Assadi