Tehran’s mayor claimed that during last night’s protests, demonstrators targeted hospitals and two medical centers, as well as 26 banks, 25 mosques, Basij bases, and law enforcement facilities, with the aim of spreading chaos and shaping a false narrative.
He also alleged that protesters set fire to 48 fire trucks — including eight heavy firefighting engines — and attacked firefighters who were attempting to extinguish the blazes.
During an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Tuesday night, President Donald J. Trump was asked about the ongoing protests in Iran and reports that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have a contingency plan to flee to Moscow.
Trump said he is “following it very closely.” When Hannity mentioned reports that Khamenei has a Plan B to leave for Russia, Trump responded that Khamenei is “looking to go someplace.”
Asked whether he believes Iran is on the verge of collapse, Trump said it could be, pointing to the regime’s history of violently suppressing protests. He warned that if Iranian authorities begin killing protesters en masse again, the United States is prepared to respond forcefully.
Trump said there have already been deaths, but noted that many appear to have resulted from massive crowd surges during demonstrations rather than direct gunfire. He described the protests as enormous in scale, with intense enthusiasm for overturning the regime, likening the scenes to a “stampede” due to the sheer number of people in the streets.
“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said, adding that Iranian leaders are aware the U.S. is ready to act if the situation escalates.
Footage shows a Russian Shahed-type attack drone striking a high-rise residential building in Kyiv during tonight’s large-scale drone, cruise-missile, and ballistic-missile assault on Ukraine.