Trump to Iran Protesters: 'Help Is On Its Way!'

The estimates of the number of protesters killed in Iran continue to grow quickly. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said Tuesday that more than 2,000 protesters have died since demonstrations started in the final week of December, reports the Washington Post. The UK government has the same figure, though Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper added, "My fear is that the number may prove to be significantly higher." A story at CBS News quotes a source inside Iran—Tehran began allowing phone calls abroad on Tuesday—who estimates the death toll at between 12,000 and 20,000.

The numbers have not been confirmed. However, even the lower figure of 2,000 "dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution," per the AP. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Tuesday called the rising number of casualties "horrifying," adding, "I unequivocally condemn the excessive use of force and continued restriction of freedom." President Trump, who has warned of a US military response, also weighed in.

• "Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING—TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!" Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price." Trump added that he has canceled all meetings with Iranian officials "until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY."