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Pro-Netanyahu Israeli media outlet Channel 14 reported that foreign actors are arming Iran's protesters with weapons, resulting in significant casualties among security forces.
"Foreign actors are arming Iran's protesters with weapons, which has resulted in a relatively significant number of casualties among Iranian security force personnel," Channel 14 reported Tuesday.
The outlet said images and death tolls from Iran's protests leave U.S. President Donald Trump with few options, with his credibility at stake.
Channel 14's assessment that Trump will soon order a U.S. military strike on Iran has not changed. "The images and death tolls of protesters from Iran do not leave the president with many options when his credibility is at stake," the report wrote.
Currently, a combined operation involving air strikes, a powerful cyberattack affecting Iran's command and control capabilities, and a psychological operation appears likely, according to the Israeli media outlet.
"Currently, it appears to be a combined operation of air strikes, a powerful cyberattack that will affect the regime's command and control capabilities in Iran, and a psychological operation," Channel 14 reported.
"The major question is not just when Trump will order the strike, but what the scale of the attack will be," according to the report.
The outlet asked whether Trump would order a strike in the style of a "hit the roof" action against the Iranian regime to enter negotiations immediately afterward, or whether Trump would go all the way and order a comprehensive strike aimed at toppling the regime.
Iran's foreign minister said Monday that the ongoing anti-government protests cannot be described as demonstrations, instead calling them a "terrorist war."
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the groups also targeted government buildings, police stations, and shops. He claimed authorities have images showing weapons being distributed among protesters.
Araghchi said the protests began on December 28 as "peaceful and legitimate" demonstrations by merchants but later turned violent.
The death toll from protests in Iran has risen to 2,550, including 2,403 protesters and 147 security personnel and government supporters, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Tuesday.
On the 17th day of nationwide protests in Iran, 614 protest gatherings have been recorded in 187 cities, covering all 31 provinces in the country, according to data compiled by HRANA.
HRANA reported a total of 18,434 arrests, 1,134 cases of severe injury, and 97 instances of forced broadcast confessions.
Iran has been rocked by waves of protests since last month, starting Dec. 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations later spread to several other cities.
Government officials have accused the U.S. and Israel of backing the "riots" and "terrorism."
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