Human rights groups estimate that hundreds of Iranian protesters have been killed by government security forces since late last year, in what may be the largest - and possibly most consequential - wave of protests in Iran since 2009. The killings, difficult to verify because Iran has for days imposed a sweeping internet blackout, may force President Donald Trump to intervene militarily. He has said he is weighing up military strikes, having pledged to take some kind of action in Iran if protesters were killed. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency says it has verified the deaths of nearly 500 protesters. Anti-government demonstrators have taken to the streets across Iran over the last two weeks to protest economic corruption, spiralling costs and a currency crisis. There is also widespread discontentment in Iran with social and cultural restrictions mandated by Iran's clerical leadership.