The government has been brutally repressing Iranians who have been protesting on the streets for the past two weeks against skyrocketing prices. International media outlets have reported that the Iranian government has used excessive force against protesters, including shutting down internet and telephone services across the country since last Thursday.

According to the Internet monitoring organization Netblocks, only 1 percent of the country has internet connectivity. As of Thursday, videos of the protests were circulating on social media. However, international media outlets have been able to receive limited information after the government shut down the internet and telephone services.

According to the American media outlet Time, hospitals in Tehran are filled with the dead and injured. On Saturday, Time quoted a doctor as saying that at least 217 people had died during the street protests. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have said that they have not been able to update the death toll since Thursday due to a lack of sufficient information.

Thousands of people demonstrated against Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Grand Palace in Tehran on Sunday, the New York Times reported. The main issue in the protests, which began on December 28 against price hikes, has been regime change in recent days. The protesters are chanting slogans calling for "the end of the dictator" in favor of freedom.

US President Donald Trump has been protesting the heavy-handed crackdown on protesters. The New York Times reported that US officials are suggesting various options to Trump regarding the possibility of military intervention in Iran. Trump has not made a final decision. ‘But according to officials, Trump is seriously considering attacking the Iranian regime that is suppressing the movement,’ the New York Times reported.

Those officials have presented various options to Trump. Trump has also been warning the Iranian regime on social media not to suppress the protesters. ‘Iran is seeking freedom. Perhaps never before has it sought so forcefully. The United States is ready to help them,’ Trump wrote on the social media network Truth on Saturday. 

Following Trump’s threatening remarks, Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei has already stated that the government will not bow down. Iran has warned the US and Israel not to try to intervene in the movement. It has warned that any intervention will be responded to by attacking Israeli and US military bases.

Iran has become more angry after Trump expressed that the United States is ready to support the Iranian movement. Iranian Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned in parliament on Sunday. “Be clear, if Iran is attacked, our targets will be the occupied territories (Israel) and American military bases and ships,” said Qalibaf, who is also a former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. 

The international news agency Reuters has spoken to three officials who attended the Israeli security consultation. They said that Israel has been put on high alert. However, there was no further clarification on this. An Israeli government spokesman declined to comment on the matter. Israel and Iran fought a 12-day war last June. At that time, Israel, with the help of the United States, carried out airstrikes on Iran. In response, Iran also attacked a US airbase in Qatar. 

Protesters have been protesting on the streets since Thursday night, even after the Iranian government shut down the internet and resorted to repression. Iranian state media reported that dozens of security personnel had been killed in the protests. Iranian state media reported that 30 security personnel had been killed in clashes in Isfahan province on Sunday.

Iran's Tasmin News Agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel had been killed in the two weeks since the protests began. "The situation is very worrying. The regime has put its existence above the value of human life," said Mahmoud Amiri-Moghadam, director of the Iran Human Rights Center.

Moghadam said he had received reports from doctors that emergency rooms in Iranian hospitals were running out of blood. Similarly, hospitals were filled with people with serious injuries and gunshot wounds. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani claimed in an interview with state television that rioters had attacked mosques, hospitals, banks and security headquarters. He alleged that ambulances and fire engines had also been targeted. “We are trying to put out the fire and they are attacking our fire engines and trucks,” said Mayor Zakani. “They want to spread unrest in the city and show a false image to our enemies.”

Starlink service also jammed 

Some people in Iran have been illegally using Starlink service. The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, provides mobile broadband services via a network of orbiting satellites. A large number of ordinary people in Iran have illegally installed its receivers. However, experts say that Iranian authorities may have also blocked Starlink terminals.

Doug Madori, an internet expert at Kentiq, said that the Iranian government may have tried to block Starlink signals. “Some Starlink users in Iran are experiencing large amounts of ‘packet loss,’ which indicates that their signals are jammed,” Madori said.