Report: U.S. increasingly regards Iran protests as having potential to overthrow regime
Reported death toll is at 51 protesters, including nine children
The assessment in Washington of the strength and scope of the Iran protests has shifted after Thursday's turnout, with U.S. officials now inclined to grant the possibility that this could be a game changer, Axios reported on Friday.
"The protests are serious, and we will continue to monitor them," an unnamed senior U.S. official was quoted as saying in the report.
Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after the Islamic regime blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as videos circulating on social media showed buildings ablaze in anti-government protests raging across the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned the Ayatollahs of a strong response if security forces escalate violence against protesters.
“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump told reporters when asked about the unrest in Iran.
The latest reported death toll is at 51 protesters, including nine children.