Trump shares unverified video claiming Iran's Mashhad 'fallen' to protesters

U.S. President Donald Trump has engaged directly with the protest movement in Iran by sharing an unsubstantiated claim on social media that the country's second-largest city has fallen to demonstrators. On his Truth Social platform, Trump reposted a video from Israeli television, captioning it: "More than one million people demonstrated: Iran's second-largest city has fallen under protesters' control, regime forces have left the city." The city in question, Mashhad, is a major population center and home to a key Shiite Muslim pilgrimage site.

An Unverified Claim Amidst Information Restrictions

The dramatic assertion that Mashhad, a city of roughly 4 million people, is under protester control and that security forces have abandoned it remains unverified. Independent reporting and footage from the ongoing unrest do not support the claim of a complete takeover or a withdrawal of state forces. Trump's amplification of the video comes amid severe internet restrictions in Iran, which have included localized blackouts and slowed connections since the protests began in late December, making real-time verification from inside the country exceptionally difficult.

Trump's Evolving Rhetoric on Potential US Intervention

The social media post is the latest in a series of statements by the U.S. President regarding the Iranian protests. Previously, Trump suggested on the same platform that the U.S. would intervene if Tehran used lethal force against peaceful demonstrators, stating, "If Iran violently kills peaceful protesters... the US will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go." However, his rhetoric appeared to shift in later comments, where he attributed some protester deaths to "crowd control issues" and "stampedes," adding, "I'm not sure I can necessarily hold anyone responsible for that," while maintaining he was monitoring the "large" crowds closely.

The Reality on the Ground: Casualties and Continued Unrest

As the protest movement enters its second week, casualty figures remain contested. Iranian authorities have not released official numbers. The state-aligned Tasnim News Agency has reported hundreds of injuries among police and Basij militia members. Conversely, the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports that at least 42 people have been killed, including eight security personnel, with over 2,200 arrests. The demonstrations, which began over economic grievances related to a collapsing national currency, have spread nationwide and are primarily being met by Iran's regular police and the Basij paramilitary force, with the Revolutionary Guards involved in some instances.