President Donald Trump held an urgent meeting with senior administration officials on Iran as anti-government protests escalated and reports emerged that the Iranian regime may soon execute its first detained protester. The United States Department of State warned that the execution could take place as early as tomorrow, a move that could ignite further unrest across the country.
Speaking publicly, Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran. “We will take very strong action if they do such a thing,” he said, referring to the reported hangings. “When they start killing thousands of people and now you’re telling me about hanging, we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”
According to one human rights group cited by CNN, at least 2,403 protesters have been killed in just over three weeks, marking one of the deadliest crackdowns in Iran’s recent history.
In an exclusive report, CNN correspondent Shomana Karadzha revealed rare and graphic details of what is unfolding inside Iran, much of it hidden from the outside world by a sweeping communications blackout.
“Iranians are risking their lives to show the world the brutality the regime has unleashed,” Karadzha reported. Video footage shows bursts of automatic gunfire, people screaming, and crowds scattering amid tear gas and live ammunition.
One Iranian doctor, who recently fled the country and asked to remain anonymous for safety reasons, shared firsthand testimony with CNN and the pro-reform outlet Iran Wire.
“I opened the window briefly. The smell of gunpowder and tear gas was everywhere,” the doctor said.
The doctor said the violence escalated dramatically on Thursday night, just as larger crowds poured into the streets.
“At 8 p.m. the internet was cut,” he recalled. “At 8.20 I got a call from the hospital. ‘Doctor come, you must come.’ When I arrived, I saw what we call a mass casualty situation.”
Every operating room was overwhelmed. “Every single one of the four operating rooms was full,” he said as told to CNN. “I was there from 10 or 11 p.m. until the morning. I don’t know how many surgeries I did, maybe 10 or 11.”
Footage from inside hospitals, rare due to security restrictions, shows injured protesters lying on floors and beds. The doctor described a shift in injuries as security forces intensified their response.
“From midnight Thursday onward, the type of injuries changed. The live rounds started,” he said. “By Friday evening all the beds were full.”
According to the doctor, security forces repeatedly raided hospitals, searching for wounded protesters and intimidating medical staff.
“Throughout these and previous protests, the regime’s security forces raided hospitals and hunted down injured protesters and the medical staff treating them,” CNN reported. “Turning places of healing into scenes of horror.”
“There was so much fear,” the doctor said. “Three patients contacted me through intermediaries. I was afraid to answer, wanting to make sure it wasn’t security agents trying to trap me.”
As the true scale of the bloodshed begins to surface, many Iranians feel isolated and abandoned.
“The hope being pumped by external media is not what we feel inside,” the doctor said. “Inside Iran it’s a mix of terror, desperation, and a tiny flickering shred of hope.”
Iranian activists told CNN that Trump’s public comments emboldened many protesters, with some believing they had U.S. backing.
“Their only hope right now to stop the carnage is President Trump,” one activist said. “If he does nothing, the situation could become even more catastrophic.”
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