Israel has been placed on high alert over a possible US strike on Iran.
On Sunday, Tehran's parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bager Ghalibaf told lawmakers that any American attack would prompt Iran to target both Israel and US military installations across the region, describing them as "legitimate targets".
Mr Ghalibaf issued the same threat just days earlier.
And last night, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the potential for Washington to take action in Iran.
President Donald Trump has also issued repeated warnings to Iranian authorities against deploying force against demonstrators, declaring on Saturday that America stands "ready to help".
But amid the mass protests, medical facilities across Iran have been pushed beyond breaking point as casualties pile up.
The death toll linked to the demonstrations has been raised to 116, according to the US-based Hrana Rights Group.
But a state-enforced internet blackout means the true number could lie much higher.
Staff at three hospitals have said that their wards are struggling to cope with the flood of dead and critically wounded patients.
A medic working at a Tehran hospital described witnessing "direct shots to the heads of the young people, to their hearts as well", with many victims dying before they could reach medical care.
Israel has been put on high alert over the prospect of American military intervention in Iran
|GETTY
A hospital worker in the capital recounted "very horrible scenes", revealing that approximately 38 people died, with many succumbing immediately upon reaching emergency beds.
"The number was so large that there wasn't enough space in the morgue; the bodies were placed on top of one another," she said.
"After the morgue became full, they stacked them on top of one another in the prayer room."
Tehran's main eye specialist centre, Farabi Hospital, was forced into crisis mode as emergency services became overwhelmed by the surge in patients.
READ MORE ON IRAN:
The death toll linked to the protests has been raised to 116 - but an internet blackout means the true number could lie much higher
| REUTERS"I have never seen such scenes in my life," one staff member at a Shiraz hospital was heard saying in footage shared with IranWire, as colleagues attended to a woman shot in the head and connected to a ventilator.
"The shameless people shot her in the head and neck. Do you have any idea how many patients we have until now?"
Medical sources indicated that between 200 and 300 patients arrived at Farabi with pellets embedded in their eyes.
Prior to the internet blackout on Thursday, other medical sources said that at least 500 people had sought treatment at Tehran hospitals for eye injuries.
Security forces have been deploying shotguns loaded with pellet-filled cartridges against demonstrators, alongside live ammunition.
A doctor from Kashan in central Iran told the BBC that numerous injured protesters had sustained eye wounds, with colleagues across the city's hospitals reporting a significant influx of casualties during Friday night's violence.
The demonstrations, which began in Tehran a fortnight ago over economic hardship, have now spread to more than 100 cities and towns spanning all of Iran's provinces.
Hundreds of protesters are believed to have been killed or wounded, with many more detained, according to BBC Persian which has confirmed the identities of 26 victims, including six children.
The Islamic Republic has warned that protesters would be considered an "enemy of God" — a charge carrying the death penalty
|REUTERS
Iranian authorities have issued severe warnings to those participating in the unrest.
Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad declared that anyone taking part in protests would be considered an "enemy of God" — a charge carrying the death penalty. The warning extended to those who "helped rioters".
The National Security Council stated that "decisive" legal action would be taken against "armed vandals", while the Iranian army announced it would join security forces in defending public property.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter