Multiple Iranian state TV channels were hacked on Sunday amid a near-total internet shutdown to air footage of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi and images of anti-government protests that have rocked Tehran in recent weeks.
Two clips of Pahlavi were shown as well as a graphic calling on Iranian security forces to side with the public, The Associated Press reported.
‘Don’t point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran,’ one graphic read, according to a translation from the outlet.
Pahlavi himself called on Iran’s military to break with the Islamic Republic and side with the people.
‘I have a special message for the military. You are the national army of Iran, not the Islamic Republic army,’ he said in the hacked broadcast. ‘You have a duty to protect your own lives. You don’t have much time left. Join the people as soon as possible.’
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which tracks human rights violations in Iran, said on Sunday that nationwide protests continued into the 22nd day as President Donald Trump weighs possible U.S. military action.
The group’s aggregated figures showed 624 recorded protests, the arrest of at least 24,669 people and the confirmed deaths of 3,919 individuals.
HRANA said 3,685 of those killed were protesters, including 25 children under the age of 18.
Nearly 9,000 deaths remain under investigation.
Iran International reported that witnesses across multiple cities told them security forces stormed hospitals, removed injured protesters and interfered with medical care, while reports from other areas described overwhelmed morgues and a strong security presence around medical facilities.
The outlet also reported that witnesses described injured protesters being left without medical care after shootings, as ambulances failed to arrive and phone networks were unavailable.
Others said hospitals were inaccessible or refused treatment, resulting in some wounded protesters bleeding to death while taking shelter in nearby buildings.