Trump imposes tariffs as Iranians make first calls to outside world since violent crackdown

President Donald Trump urged Iranian civilians to continue protesting and said Tuesday that “help is on the way” amid a crackdown on demonstrations that a U.S.-based human rights group says have killed 2,000 people.

In recent days, Trump has increased pressure on Tehran, warning that it could launch military strikes while remaining open to negotiations. He also imposed 25 percent tariffs on those doing business with the Islamic Republic, the theocratic regime that has ruled the country for nearly 50 years.

In an article published Tuesday morning on Truth Social, he wrote: “KEEP PROTECTING – TAKE BACK CONTROL OF YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Record the names of the killers and attackers.” Then, without providing details, he added: “HELP IS ON THE WAY.” »

Iran has said it is open to diplomacy, while threatening the United States and Israel with retaliation if it is attacked.

Inside the country, authorities have cut off Internet access and telephone calls abroad, stifling information. on the government’s bloody response to the protests initially triggered by the price rise. Hundreds of people were killed, activists said. with a video showing bodies lined up outside a morgue near Tehran, surrounded by their loved ones crying and screaming.

But on Tuesday, some Iranians based abroad and the Associated Press news agency said they had received calls from inside the country. The internet remained unavailable and calls from outside the country were blocked, the news agency said.

Those who called the AP described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, with riot officers stationed at major intersections, carrying batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, the news agency said.

This presence involved the Basij force composed exclusively of volunteers as well as plainclothes security agents, the witnesses said. Banks and government offices were destroyed and stores were open but there was little foot traffic, they added, according to the AP.

Although the theocratic regime claims to have restored order – using lethal force against protesters across the country, activists say – it is under increasing international pressure.

On Monday, Trump said on Truth Social that he was announcing a 25 percent tariff on imports from countries doing business with Iran. The country’s main trading partners are China, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey and India. This would be in addition to any existing tariffs the United States imposes on these countries.

The protests spread to all Iranian provinces and crowds remained huge, a U.S. official with direct knowledge of the events told NBC News. The State Department has asked Americans to leave the country.

The protests were sparked by economic grievances over the collapse of the rial and soaring inflation. Iran’s economy has been hampered in part by sanctions from the United States and other international entities over the regime’s nuclear program. The protests have become one of the biggest challenges the Islamic Republic has faced in its 47-year history.

The level of violence exceeded that of previous protests in 2022 and 2023, human rights groups said.

“There’s a lot more violence and I think it has to do with the sense of threat that the Islamic Republic feels,” Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based Iranian group Iran Human Rights, said in a telephone interview with NBC News.

On Tuesday morning, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said around 2,000 people had been killed and more than 16,780 arrested. The organization relies on supporters within the Islamic Republic to verify information.

Iranian authorities have not given an official death toll.

Some videos that had not previously been seen due to the internet outage circulated on social media and NBC News was able to geolocate to different cities across the country.

It is not known exactly when the footage was filmed.

A video circulating Monday showed a man lying in the street in Tehran, bleeding profusely from his abdomen amid a huge crowd of protesters. Two men stand over him and wonder if he was shot by a “pellet” or “military grade” gun while a woman screams in horror.

Another video broadcast Monday from the northwestern Iranian city of Urmia showed a large crowd kicking and punching members of the security forces, who in turn responded with batons.

Protesters continued to call for the fall of the regime. In a video filmed in Arak, western Iran, and circulating on Sunday, the crowd chants: “This is the year of blood, Moosh-Ali will be overthrown”, a reference to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the country’s highest authority.

Iranian authorities have tried to downplay the scale of the protests.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the situation was now “totally under control”. He also told Al Jazeera that “the internet was only shut down after confronting terrorist operations and realizing the orders were coming from outside the country,” an allegation authorities made against the United States and Israel without providing evidence.

Khamenei, for his part, said in a message that the large government counter-protests on Monday were a sign of the strength of the Iranian people and a warning to the United States not to interfere in the country.

“It was a warning to American politicians to stop their deception and not rely on traitorous mercenaries,” he said, according to state media.