"The IRGC remains a potent force domestically" despite losses in the 12-day war with Israel, one Iran expert told Newsweek.

Here are the key questions about Iran’s protests, what sparked them, how the government is responding, and why U.S. involvement has become a central issue, answered.

Iran’s leadership is under incredible pressure as the largest protests in years against the Islamic theocracy shake the country. Government hard-liners have threatened to attack the U.S. military and archrival Israel over support for the demonstrators,

Iran's parliament speaker warned the U.S. military and Israel would be "legitimate targets" if America strikes the Islamic Republic, as threatened by President Donald Trump.

Iran eased some restrictions on its people and for the first time in days allowed them to make phone calls abroad via their mobile phones on Tuesday. It did not ease restrictions on the internet or allow texting services to be restored as the toll from days of bloody protests against the state rose to at least 646 people killed.

Anti-government protests have erupted across all 31 of Iran’s provinces in a wave of unrest that marks the biggest challenge to the regime in years.

This wave of protests is unfolding against a backdrop fundamentally different from the past anti-regime movements, in the wake of June's 12-day war.

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.