Armed Iranian protesters battle police in Tehran streets as Trump warns of forceful US response

This post was originally published on this site.

Armed protesters clashed Friday with security forces in the Tehranpars neighborhood ofIran’s capitalas nationwide anti-regime demonstrations became more violent in the country.

�s State Security Forces clashed with so-called “rebellious youth.”

In the video, people on the streets were running and shouting “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “Shame on you!” and “We are all together!”

WHO WOULD RULE IF THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC FAILS?

Video of armed clash with protesters in Tehranpars

Armed protesters clashed Friday with police in Iran’s capital as nationwide anti-regime demonstrations became more violent in the fraught country.(Iran TV)

The protests entered their 14th day Saturday, with 65 killed, including children, and 2,311 arrested by Friday, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency in Iran.

Authorities imposed asweeping internet blackoutthis week that largely cut the country off from the outside world and escalated threats of harsh punishment while anti-regime protests spread.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL INTERVENE IF IRAN STARTS KILLING PROTESTERS: ‘LOCKED AND LOADED’

Protester holding sign in Tehran on Friday

A masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran’s Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest Friday in Tehran, Iran. (UGC via AP)

The protests expanded to 190 cities in Iran by Saturday, according to the National Council of Resistance in Iran.

“By defending the demonstrators, the rebellious youths did not allow the flames of the uprising to be extinguished,” dissident politician Maryam Rajavi said in a statement. ” They have shown their determination to triumph over the regime.”

Iranian state TV shows a man holding a device to document burning vehicles during a night of mass protests in Zanjan, Iran. (Iranian state TV via AP)

At a news conference in Washington, D.C., Friday, President Donald Trump said Iran was facingmounting pressure as unrestspreads across the country.

“Iran’s in big trouble,” Trump said.“It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago.We’re watching the situation very carefully.”

onelink.me/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.

Trump warned that the U.S.wouldrespond forcefully if the regimeresorts to mass violence.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.And that doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts,” he said.

As of Saturday, Lufthansa, flydubai, Turkish Airlines, AJet, Pegasus, Qatar Airways and Austrian Airlines had all suspended flights to Iran.

� Efrat Lachter and Lucas Tomlinson contributed to this report.