Heartbreaking footage emerging from Iran has captured grief-stricken families searching through rows of dead bodies after the Islamic Republic launched a brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters amid nationwide unrest. Videos filmed over the weekend outside the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Centre near Tehran show dozens of bodies zipped into black bags and laid out on the ground as relatives desperately tried to identify their loved ones.

The scenes were marked by anguished cries, with some mourners collapsing in grief while others chanted slogans such as “Death to Khamenei” and “I will kill the one who killed my brother.”

The distressing images surfaced as the death toll from two weeks of protests rose to at least 544 on Monday, according to opposition activists. The unrest was triggered by Iran’s worsening economic crisis, marked by soaring inflation and a sharply depreciating currency. State media, however, have reported lower casualty figures and said more than 100 members of the security forces have also been killed.

Iran’s government has declared three days of national mourning for those it calls “martyrs,” including slain security personnel. Officials have accused foreign powers of fueling the unrest. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi claimed that warnings from US President Donald Trump about potential military action had encouraged “terrorists” to target both protesters and security forces to provoke foreign intervention.

ALSO READ: US-China Rare Earth Race: How Trump’s Venezuela Strategy Goes Beyond Oil As Beijing’s Dominance Looms

Trump Warns Of ‘Very Strong Options’

Trump has repeatedly said Washington has “very strong options” on the table and confirmed that the US military is monitoring developments, while his administration remains in contact with Iranian opposition figures.

Regional leaders have also weighed in. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman, Omer Celik, warned against foreign intervention, saying Iran’s internal challenges must be resolved through “its own dynamics.” He cautioned that outside involvement, particularly driven by what he described as “Israeli provocations,” could worsen regional instability.

Iranian state media aired footage of large pro-government rallies in several cities, including Tehran, where President Masoud Pezeshkian was seen marching alongside supporters waving national flags. Pezeshkian has urged Iranians to participate in a “national resistance march” while pledging to address economic grievances and insisting that the government remains open to dialogue, even as security forces continue to clamp down on what authorities describe as riots and terrorist activity.

ALSO READ: 'No More Oil Or Money': Trump Warns Cuba To Strike Deal With US 'Before It’s Too Late'