Breaking:: Latest Protests in Iran

Antigovernment protests in Iran grew in size and violence in the past few days as security forces cracked down on demonstrations that began over economic woes two weeks ago and have broadened into a mass movement challenging Iran’s authoritarian clerical rulers.

As of Sunday, some human rights monitors said that nearly 200 people, and possibly many more, had been killed since the protests began in late December. The number, a spike over estimates in recent days, suggests the increasingly violent nature of confrontations between protesters and security forces. But restrictions on the internet and international communications have made independent assessments difficult, human rights groups have said.

The government has acknowledged the economic difficulties, but it has at the same time cracked down on demonstrators and sought to blame external forces for fomenting unrest. Iran’s president, in an interview with state television on Saturday, promised to address economic grievances but warned that the state also had a “duty” not to allow the country to be destabilized.

The authorities have threatened to impose tough measures against protesters and to retaliate if there is international interference. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Friday that the government would “not back down” and called the protesters vandals who were trying to “please” President Trump.

Mr. Trump has pledged that the United States would come to the aid of protesters if the government used lethal force against them, and said he was considering possible options. “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media on Saturday. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”