Iran on Brink of Collapse

Trump has signalled he is ready to back Iranian protesters – as the US weighs up military action against Tehran.

The President said says Iran is “looking at FREEDOM” and vowed America was “ready to help”, as chaos spreads across the country.

Behind the scenes, US officials have been locked in talks over potential strikes on Iran’s military, according to reports.

The Wall Street Journal said multiple Iranian military targets are being considered as options for attack.

Former Pentagon insiders told The Telegraph that Trump could also unleash covert CIA operations to destabilise the regime – or give Israel the green light to strike first.

While one source claimed a full-scale assault had been discussed, another said no final decision has been made and no US military assets have yet been deployed.

Trump appears to be seriously considering intervention as Iran’s streets erupt, with hundreds of protesters feared dead after a brutal crackdown by the regime.

Despite the violence, crowds again poured onto the streets on Saturday night, defying security forces.

Trump has previously warned Iran’s enforcers not to use lethal force – and his latest comments suggest the White House is watching closely.

Iran is teetering on the brink of collapse – with the internet blackout sparking fears of a “massacre” and the regime’s “missile cities” on alert.

As Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei barely clings to power, Donald Trump has warned the US “stands ready to help” if the mullah regime uses violence to crack down on demonstrators.

Earlier it was reported that least 65 people including nine children have reportedly died amid the carnage which kicked off on December 28 and now marks the greatest challenge the Islamic regime has faced in years.

Hundreds are feared to be dead but no verified official figures have been released yet.

According to the BBC Persian, 70 bodies were brought to Poursina Hospital on Friday night, bringing the morgue to full capacity.

A hospital source said authorities were asking relatives for seven billion rials (£5,222) to release them for burial.

The source described how most of the dead had “direct shots to the head of the young people, to their hearts as well”.

Over 2,300 protesters have also been arrested with the violent demonstrations entering the two-week mark.

As Iranians took to the streets for the 14th consecutive day on Friday they were heard chanting anti-government slogans including: “Death to Khamenei!”

Hundreds of towns including the capital have been plunged into total anarchy – with shocking footage showing streets up in flames and swarms of locals destroying buildings.

Authorities have used tear gas to disperse large crowds of furious locals, while US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported gunfire across the country.

Iran’s prosecutor-general Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned on Saturday that all protesters would face the death penalty, as he vowed to charge “rioters and terrorists” as “enemies of god”.

Top Ayatollah crony and Tehran’s chief prosecutor Ali Salehi has also vowed to use the death penalty on some if they commit acts of vandalism.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been placed on the highest state of alert and authorities have activated “missile cities” – vast underground complexes packed with ballistic missiles.

On Saturday, Trump said on Truth Social: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”

The statement came after he warned Iran was in “big trouble” on Friday.

He pledged: “I’ve made this statement very strongly that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved.

“We’ll be hitting them very hard where it hurts.”

Threatening to punish those who killed protesters, the US president said: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”

On Saturday Iran’s army urged citizens to stay alert to thwart what it called “enemy plots” in a desperate bid to blame other countries including the US for the national outrage.

The Ayatollah’s teetering regime has cut off all internet across Iran and plunged the nation into a near total communications blackout.

Fears are now mounting that the Islamic Republic is cloaking a bloody crackdown.

Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi said the mullahs may be planning a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout”.

She suggested that the decision to kill all access to the outside world was “not a technical failure” but instead “a tactic”.

Doctors in Iran said their hospitals were overwhelmed, with one in Tehran in “crisis mode” due to the huge wave of patients, BBC reported.

Austria has suspended flights to and from Tehran due to the “current political situation”.

The airline said it may resume flights on Tuesday after reassessment.

Sir Keir Starmer made a joint statement alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The trio said: “The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal.”

With his power hanging in the balance, the Supreme Leader fumed on Friday in a televised address: “The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this.”

Khamenei also accused the US president of riling up “vandals” and “saboteurs”.

Trump has also suggested that Islamic dictator Khamenei is looking to flee – potentially under the safeguard of Vladimir Putin in Russia.

“He’s looking to go some place,” the US President said on Thursday.

Offering Washington‘s backing to the protesters, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said on Saturday: “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”

Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran and a prominent figure in the anti-Islamic Republic movement, has called for two more days of protest and a nationwide strike.

Looking to pile more pressure onto the quaking Ayatollah, Pahlavi called on Iranians to “come to the streets” at 6pm on Saturday and Sunday.

He saluted the “magnificent” protests erupting across the nation demanding an end to hardline rule and vowed to return to his homeland.

Protesters chanted his name as he offered to become the figurehead of the unfolding revolution.

Pahlavi, 65 — son of the late Shah of Iran who was ousted in 1979 — posted: “Our goal is no longer merely to come into the streets; the goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them.

The prince, in exile in Washington DC, urged Iranian workers in key industries, including oil and gas, to strike to bring down the weakened regime.

“I too am preparing to return to the homeland so that at the time of our national revolution’s victory, I can be beside you, the great nation of Iran. I believe that day is very near.”

It comes after Trump threatened to “hit them very hard” if Tehran used deadly force against the rioters.

The protests began two weeks ago in Iran’s capital but have since spread into nearly 300 towns and cities.

They followed years of economic turmoil – an issue which was sent spiralling after the 12-day war against Israel and the US last summer.

Sanctions have made everyday life completely unaffordable, the currency has collapsed, and extreme hyperinflation has crippled ordinary citizens.

The current protests represent the biggest threat to the Ayatollah’s power since widespread unrest in 2022 and 2023, when Masha Amini died in custody after allegedly breaching strict dress code rules.

But the mullah regime appears closer to collapse than ever before – with the government still reeling from the conflict in June and the catastrophic economic situation.