Iranians have said Donald Trump has “blood on his hands” after he encouraged them to keep protesting as the regime in Tehran launched a brutal crackdown. The US President promised protesters “help is on its way,” but has yet to strike Iran despite his promise to take action if protesters were killed.

Iranians alleged that the US President’s words motivated them to take to the streets, only to see their family, friends and neighbours shot by the Islamic Republic’s armed forces. it has been reported. One of them told The Telegraph: “Trump encouraged us to act, to stay in the streets. But now we’re disheartened because nothing happened.”

President Trump is considering possible military actions against Iran, such as limited strikes on security forces or key figures, even though the Iranian government has already suppressed the recent protests.

According to US sources, the broader goal behind this pressure is to create conditions that might lead to political change within Iran.

The scale of the unrest remains unclear, with widely differing reports on casualties: the rights group HRANA estimates nearly 6,000 people were killed, including more than 200 members of the security forces, while Iranian authorities admit to several thousand deaths but give a lower official total of just over 3,100.