Iran Protest Crackdown Claims Rise as US Bolsters Forces (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The full scale of the casualties in Iran after the brutal crackdown against anti-government protesters is still not known. But one human rights group based in the US, which is meticulously putting together evidence, has now confirmed the killing of over 6,000 people during the unrest at the start of January. It's also investigating 17,000 more deaths. The protests over worsening economic conditions erupted in the capital Tehran at the end of December and developed into one of the deadliest periods of anti-government unrest in the history of the Islamic Republic. There's been an internet blackout imposed by the Iranian regime. But during the brief moments of satellite coverage, the BBC has managed to speak to several young Iranians about their ordeal. Our correspondent Caroline Hawley's report contains videos from the crackdown and some injuries sustained during the protests that you may find distressing.

[00:00:57] Speaker 2: The images emerging from Iran paint an ever more horrifying picture. Witnesses say security forces fired live ammunition from motorbikes and rooftops. They speak of massacres, a bloodbath.

[00:01:11] Speaker 3: No one was violent and no one clashed with the security forces. But on Friday night they still opened fire on the crowd. We all know someone who was killed in the protests.

[00:01:21] Speaker 2: One human rights group has already identified more than 6,000 of the dead, almost all protesters, though dozens were simply bystanders and more than 90 were children. And the counting has barely begun. It's investigating reports from its activists on the ground of another 17,000 deaths.

[00:01:40] Speaker 4: I think we're looking at systematic mass killing on our hands. I mean, we have looked at preliminary evidence that shows us that there are bodies in morgues that have medical equipment on them, and yet they have bullet holes in the middle of people's foreheads.

[00:01:58] Speaker 2: Security forces have also raided hospitals searching for injured protesters. And among the tens of thousands arrested are doctors who treated the wounded. This surgeon reported to have been beaten up when he was detained from his home. No wonder many of those injured are too frightened to go to hospital. This woman was treated at home by volunteer medics after she and a friend were shot.

[00:02:22] Speaker 5: People helped us and we got into a car. I said, just don't go to a hospital. In the following days, we found doctors who looked at our wounds and gave us antibiotics.

[00:02:33] Speaker 2: Among those killed, some faces stand out, like that of this influencer known as Baby Rider. Her family is said to be under pressure from the authorities to say she died in an accident on her bike. But a close friend told the BBC the 19-year-old had been shot by the regime. One young woman who'd gone out onto the streets in hope and didn't come home. Caroline Hawley, BBC News.

[00:02:59] Speaker 1: Well, President Donald Trump had threatened Iran with military action in response to its brutal repression of the mass protests. But while he's backed away from immediate action, the US has been beefing up its military presence in the region, with the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier being the latest arrival, as Jonathan Bielnair reports.

[00:03:21] Speaker 6: America, the world's most powerful military, has already shown it can strike Iran. Last June's Operation Midnight Hammer targeted its nuclear facilities. The question now is the US getting ready to hit Iran again. The recent arrival of a fully loaded aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by five destroyers in the region, certainly provides the president with options. The US already had a significant military presence in the Middle East, with bases in Qatar, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain. But over the last few weeks, there's been a significant build-up. These include the arrival of more fighter jets, including F-15s, to Jordan and Qatar. The USS Abraham Lincoln alone has around 70 aircraft, including F-35s, capable of avoiding enemy radar. Also significant is the arrival of dozens of transport aircraft in the region, some carrying additional air defences. Britain, too, has sent a squadron of RAF Typhoons to Qatar to boost the region's defences. So what could be the targets for any US strikes? It's already hit Iran's nuclear programme. This time, it could focus on the regime itself. That could include hitting Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC. Or the US could target the country's leadership.

[00:04:59] Speaker 7: I suspect I would fall into being quite cautious if I were advising the president now, because of the unpredictability of what would come next if the US and the Iranian government if the Islamic Republic fell. But at the same time, there is a sense that this is a different moment and that we could be witnessing the final death throes of this current regime.

[00:05:22] Speaker 6: Iran's already warning that it's ready to respond. This message recently plastered on a billboard in Tehran. It still has large stockpiles of missiles and drones, one reason why some of America's Gulf allies are opposed to strikes. President Trump has given himself military options. What's still not clear is whether he's going to use them. Jonathan Beale, BBC News.