Iran also faces much greater threats from outside. The “ axis of resistance ,” a network of allies and proxy militias that once deterred attacks, has collapsed in Lebanon and Syria. President Trump, who bombed Iran’s nuclear sites along with Israel last summer, is threatening more military strikes.

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spiked Tuesday to at least 2,000 people killed, activists said, as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown.

Iran has deployed new techniques to swiftly and decisively crush nationwide protests, signaling a tactical shift by a regime that now views domestic dissent as an extension of the summer war with Israel.

Many Iranian opposition activists are hoping the current unrest could be the beginning of the end of the country's hardline Islamic regime.

Nationwide protests in Iran are putting new pressure on its theocracy as the country faces an economic crisis.

More than 2,500 people have died during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 17 days, activists said Wednesday.

The ayatollah claimed in a defiant address that "the Iranian nation has defeated America" as Trump appeared to partially back away from threats to intervene.

A Iran returns to an uneasy calm after protests led to a violent crackdown, a senior cleric is calling for the death penalty for detained demonstrators. His sermon Friday also threatened U.S. President Trump.