Semi-official Iranian media say two police were killed in a western town, as videos show security forces firing guns and tear gas at crowds elsewhere.

Iran has insisted for decades that its nuclear program is peaceful. However, its officials have increasingly threatened to pursue a nuclear weapon. Iran had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels prior to the U.S. attack in June, making it the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so.

The protests are diffuse and largely leaderless, and the president's efforts at mediation — and the killings and arrests by security forces — haven't persuaded the demonstrators to stay off the streets.

Iran says it has hanged a man who spied for Israel and is ready for a new military confrontation as it struggles to tamp down domestic unrest.

Iran’s armed forces have been placed at the highest level of readiness, with hundreds of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and regular army units on full alert in response to perceived threats from the United States and Israel, state media reported.

The spreading unrest, sparked by economic protests by Tehran shopkeepers, adds to a list of pressures on the regime.

Iran’s regime is accused of importing foreign militias to crush protests, as experts warn the move marks a dangerous escalation to suppress domestic unrest.

President Donald Trump signed a memorandum reviving an aggressive approach to Iran as his new administration pressures the government in Tehran.