Iran's government imposes five-day internet blackout as nationwide protests intensify, with at least 646 people killed and over 10,000 arrested during the crackdown.

President Donald Trump said countries that do business with Iran will face a 25% tariff — a move that will hit China hard. His move piles further pressure on Tehran after he floated US military intervention to “rescue” protesters.

At least 2,403 protesters have been killed and 18,434 people arrested, HRANA said in its latest update on Tuesday. The group said protests have been recorded in 614 locations in 187 cities across all 31 Iranian provinces. Among the dead are at least 12 children, the group reported.

The difficulty of tracking the death toll from Iran's nationwide protests has been compounded by the government's decision to shut down the internet and international calling.

Death toll from crackdown on protests in Iran jumps to at least 2,571, activists say. Follow The Hindu for LIVE updates

The sustained nationwide protests that have gripped Iran since late December have divided global opinion, with some governments raising concern about what they fear are foreign, instigated riots, while others have accused Iran’s leaders of responding violently to those protesting.

A source inside Iran who was able to call out told CBS News on Tuesday that activist groups working to compile a full death toll from the protests, based on reports from medical officials across the country, believed the toll was at least 12,000, and possibly as high as 20,000.

Haunting footage has emerged of Iranian security forces allegedly firing volleys of bullets at anti-government protesters for six straight minutes as they scream in horror.

Amid a near-total communications blackout, witness footage trickling out of Iran paints a picture of how the country’s largest uprising in decades spread — and turned deadly.

Other videos posted online show protesters taking to the streets, shouting "death to the dictator" and openly calling for the end of the Islamic Republic.

President Donald Trump has arrived at a delicate moment as he weighs whether to order a U.S. military response against the Iranian government as it continues a violent crackdown on protests that have left more than 600 dead and led to the arrests of thousands across the country.

In an exclusive conversation with Firstpost, Seyed Emamian, an expert in Iranian governance and politics, said that while the protesters are staging demonstrations on a ’legitimate point’, the major c