Overview
- In a televised address, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged thousands of protest deaths for the first time and labeled President Donald Trump a criminal for encouraging demonstrators.
- Rights groups including HRANA and IHR report death tolls in the low thousands, an Iranian official cited at least 5,000, and far higher figures remain unverified due to restricted access.
- NetBlocks reported connectivity at roughly 2% of normal levels as authorities partially restored limited services, constraining independent documentation of the crackdown.
- HRANA says more than 24,000 people have been arrested, and Iranian officials have invoked mohareb, a capital offense, as courts advance indictments following the unrest.
- Witness accounts and rights monitors describe security forces firing on crowds and using military-grade weapons, while Trump called for new leadership in Iran and kept pressure through sanctions and warnings.