At least 648 protesters have been killed in Iran during anti-government demonstrations, reports Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based human rights group, while almost 10,700 people have been arrested.
The group warns that the death toll could be much higher, but communications outages across the country are making it difficult to verify the information.
According to the BBC, the human rights group has called for international support to help document human rights violations and has urged pressure on Iranian authorities to stop using force against peaceful protesters.
In response, Donald Trump said the US was considering "very strong options" to intervene in Iran, stressing that it would act if protesters continued to be killed. Trump's comments were followed by harsh accusations from Iran's supreme leader, who accused the United States of "deception" and support for "treasonous mercenaries" while praising pro-government rallies organized by the state.
