SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
Protests in Iran are entering a third week, spreading across cities and towns nationwide. Tight internet restrictions make it difficult for people outside the country to fully grasp the scale of the demonstrations, but the few verified images that are emerging plainly show the fury on the streets.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in non-English language).
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTER: (Non-English language spoken).
MCCAMMON: International journalists are currently barred from entering Iran, but from London, we're joined now by Willem Marx, who's been analyzing videos shared by ordinary citizens, alongside coverage from Iranian state media. Hi, Willem.
WILLEM MARX, BYLINE: Hey, Sarah.
MCCAMMON: What do we know so far about these protests? What might have sparked them, and what is the scale of these demonstrations?
MARX: Well, this unrest in Iran - it really reached its two-week mark this weekend. There's this deepening government crackdown on these very widespread anti-government demonstrations. And the protests originally began in late December with shopkeepers and traders in Tehran. That's the capital's Grand Bazaar. They essentially shut their shops to protest price rises and a collapse in the country's currency, but they've since spread across the country - these protests. Activists reporting that the death toll has climbed sharply with hundreds of protesters now believed to be dead, thousands detained in the clashes between these demonstrators and security forces. And protesters are not just demanding economic relief anymore. Many are chanting anti-government slogans. There are reports of clashes in cities, including Tehran, Mashhad and elsewhere, as the demonstrations become really the biggest domestic challenge to Iran's theocratic leadership in years.
MCCAMMON: And how is the regime responding?
MARX: Well, the government's not released their own official figures on deaths or injuries or arrests. They have said that dozens of police have been killed in these clashes. There's been a pretty unprecedented communications blackout, though, with the internet cut alongside phone access. That makes all the independent verification very difficult. But speaking on Iranian state television, the country's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said he would listen to protesters' demands.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PRESIDENT MASOUD PEZESHKIAN: (Non-English language spoken).
MARX: He's saying here that authorities request that in every neighborhood residents come together and not let other people riot. "If citizens have a concern," he says, "we will hear them. It's our duty to hear them and to solve their problems. But," he says, "our highest duty is to not allow rioters to come and disrupt society." He blames foreign governments, specifically the United States and Israel, for stirring up the protests. And the Iranian Parliament speaker even warned Israel and American bases in the region would be, quote, "legitimate targets" if the U.S. attacks Iran. And remember that Iran attacked both Israel and U.S. military installations just last summer.
MCCAMMON: Right. And President Trump has threatened military action against the Iranian regime. Willem, how could the U.S. intervene? And what could that mean?
MARX: Well, this situation is really, really volatile. The protests began with these economic grievances. They've now evolved into much broader political dissent against the regime. The international response is including some pretty vocal support signals from U.S. leaders, including President Trump, for the demonstrators, including warnings against further bloodshed have really heightened the tensions inside Iran. And this is happening just days after that whirlwind series of events in Venezuela. The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times reporting today that President Trump was set to be briefed this week on specific options to respond to these protests in Iran. So what happens next really depends on whether authorities in Tehran can contain the unrest without too much further violence and whether protesters can sustain momentum amid all this repression and the limited communication channels.
MCCAMMON: Willem, thanks so much for your time.
MARX: Thanks for having me. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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