
Armed protesters fought Friday with security forces in the Tehranpars neighborhood of , as nationwide two-week-long anti-regime demonstrations grew more violent in the country.
Continuous gunfire was audible for several minutes in mobile phone footage transmitted to Iranian television and shared with Digital as Iran’s State Security Forces battled so-called “rebellious youth.”
In the footage, individuals were seen fleeing on the streets and chants of “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “Shame on you!” and “We are all together!” were audible.
The protests reached their 14th day on Saturday, with 65 people killed, including children, and 2,311 arrested by Friday, as reported by the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran.
Authorities imposed a this week that largely isolated the country from the outside world and intensified threats of harsh punishment while anti-regime protests spread.
The protests had spread to 190 cities in Iran by Saturday, according to the National Council of Resistance in Iran.
“By protecting the demonstrators, the rebellious youths prevented the uprising from being suppressed,” opposition figure Maryam Rajavi said in a statement. ” They have shown their determination to overcome the regime.”
During a press briefing in Washington, D.C., on Friday, President Donald Trump said Iran was facing spreads across the country.
“Iran is in serious trouble,” Trump said. “From my perspective, the people are seizing control of certain cities that seemed improbable just a few weeks ago. We’re watching the situation very carefully.”
Trump warned that the U.S. would resorts to mass violence.
“We’ll be striking them severely in vulnerable areas. And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts,” he said.
By Saturday, Lufthansa, flydubai, Turkish Airlines, AJet, Pegasus, Qatar Airways and Austrian Airlines had all canceled flights to Iran.
Efrat Lachter and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.