Some cell phone communications have been restored in Iran but the internet remains down as the demonstrations across the country continue. Human rights groups say more than 2,000 people connected to the protests have been killed in government crackdowns, and the number may be higher.
President Donald Trump has said to the protestors that help is on the way, but just how isn’t yet clear. He has imposed a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Tehran.
In Canada, tens of thousands of people are also protesting in solidarity with the demonstrators in Iran.
The message from Ottawa to any Canadians in Iran is leave while you can. And protests in Canada are also ramping up as Iranian Canadians voice their concerns for family and loved ones facing a deadly crackdown across their homeland. Tens of thousands joined protests on the weekend, and crowds were out again Monday night in front of the U.S. embassy in Toronto.
Many of the protestors are calling on Washington to intervene. And one Iranian Canadian says the risk of U.S. military intervention is worth it, if it means the end of the current regime in Iran. Besat Zardosht has been organizing protests in London, Ontario.
"I would definitely support that. It’s very difficult to say but at this point I see that even a day that the Islamic Republic is in power it would be more lives," said Zardosht. "And after these protests what’s going to happen? We have seen so many people have been arrested. And the moment that these protests has been silenced, it’s going to be mass executions."
Other Canadians with family in Iran, say those people are fighting for their lives, Thousands flooded the square in front of Toronto’s city hall during the weekend. Saher Gassemi was one of them and said it’s been days since she’s had any contact.
"That was the last message I heard from my mom, and said that my brother and my father are out and I haven’t had anything after that," she said.
But not everyone is in favor of military intervention. Nader Hashemi is a political analyst on the Middle East.
"I’m of the view that an actual external military attack will actually embolden the regime and undermine the cause of the protestors," said Hashemi.
The catalyst for the latest protests in Iran appears to be the crown prince in exile, Reza Pahlavi, who has repeatedly said he is not interested in ruling Iran, but in helping its transformation to a democracy.
"If anybody listen to what he had to say over these years, he have been said again and again, that he wants democracy," said Zardosht. "And I have no evidence not to believe him. And as I said, we have option and we have to look into reality of what we have. The more united we have, the more chance that we have against this regime."
While the protests continue In Iran and the number of dead increase daily, the message from Iranian Canadians is loud and clear: 'that we are with you.' Some calling what’s happening at home not a country-wide protest, but a revolution.
