It's a figure that freezes the heart: up to 12 deaths according to Iran International, at least 5 thousand according to Israeli intelligence, around 3 thousand according to government sources cited by the New York Times. Even if the most cautious hypothesis were confirmed, Iran would be experiencing the largest massacre in its history recent. The repression of the protests has transformed the squares into battlefields, with a massacre that primarily affects young people under thirty. The reports filtering out—amid internet blackouts, broken communications, and raids—speak of snipers on rooftops, gunfire into crowds, militarized hospitals, and morgues that continue to fill. Universities are closed, cities are under de facto curfew, while house-to-house raids continue.
Trump announces: "Help is on the way"
Faced with this scenario, Donald Trump has raised his tone. The American president has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials and instead addressed the protesters directly, calling on them to “keep protesting” and to “take control of the institutions”. “Help is on the way”, he promised, speaking of support for the opposition and threatening a "very high" price for those responsible for the killings. Washington meanwhile called on American citizens to leave the country immediately while Trump yesterday announced a new economic crackdown against the regime: 25% tariffs against anyone who continues to trade with Tehran.
Behind the scenes, the White House considers multi-layered strategy. According to New York Times, Trump also keeps diplomatic channels open with Tehran, but without excluding the use of forceThe Pentagon is presenting a range of options that go beyond previous strikes: from broader scenarios against Iran's nuclear program to targeted interventions, such as cyberattacks or actions against its internal security apparatus. Any decision, sources warn, is not immediate and carries the risk of a harsh response from Iran.
Moscow's anger and Beijing's warning
Trump's words provoked an immediate reaction from Tehran's main allies. Russia called American threats "unacceptable", warning that any new attack on Tehran would “disastrous consequences” for the entire Middle East and for international security. From Moscow comes the direct accusation that "foreign forces hostile to Iran" are exploiting social tensions to to destabilize and “destroy the Iranian state”. In the words of the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria ZakharovaThe West is apparently using the protests as a geopolitical pretext, replicating patterns seen in other crisis theaters. For the Kremlin, Iran remains a strategic ally, and any American move risks turning domestic repression into a global detonator.
On the economic front, thea hard line has also come from ChinaBeijing reacted firmly to the duties announced by Trump, condemned the measure and promised to defend “with determination” their own interests, warning that There are no winners in tariff warsForeign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning called Washington's decision a further escalation of global economic tensions and reiterated the China's "firm opposition" to unilateral tariff policies.
The hour of executions has begun in Iran
Making the climate in Iran even more dramatic is thenightmare of executionsFear erupts in Tehran. A 26-year-old protester faces the death penalty after a fast-track trial, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Amnesty International is calling for an immediate halt to all capital punishment.
Il regime, for its part, claims to have regained control of the streets and promises iron fist against what he calls an existential threatThe country thus remains suspended between a generation that continues to challenge power and a security apparatus described as "armed for war," while Trump's announcement and the clash between the great powers transform Iran's internal crisis into a global issue. The real unknown is not only how many more victims will be counted, but how far the world will be willing to go in the face of a massacre that shakes the international balance of power.
