Washington, Dubai, Jan. 13: President Donald Trump has arrived at a delicate moment as he weighs whether to order a US military response against the Iranian govern ment as it continues a violent crackdown on protests and led to the arrests of thousands across the country. The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran spiked on Tuesday to at least 2,003 people killed, activists said, and Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown. The number of dead, as reported by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, dwarfs that in any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surround ing the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. These demonstrations, which began little over two weeks ago in anger over Iran’s ailing economy, soon targeted the theocracy, par ticularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained on Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran show graffiti Protesters hold a Lion and Sun flag, the Iranian flag prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution, during a demon stration outside the Iranian embassy in The Hague, on Tuesday. and chants calling for Khamenei’s death — some thing that could carry a death sentence. Iran eased some restric tions 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. Although Iranians were able to call abroad, people outside the country could not call them, several peo ple in the capital told The Associated Press. The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, said SMS text messaging still was down and internet users inside Iran could not access anything abroad, although there were local connections to govern ment-approved websites. It was unclear if restric tions would ease further after authorities cut off all communications inside the country and to the outside world on Thursday. Trump has repeatedly threatened Tehran with military action.