Reports of a dramatic escalation in the use of deadly force by Iranian security forces have begun to trickle out of the country despite a severe communications blackout as authorities struggle to contain mass protests.

The Center for Human Rights in Iran, based in New York, said it received eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds of protesters have been killed in Iran since the government cut off the country’s access to the internet on Thursday night.

Bodies are piling up at overwhelmed hospitals in Iran as major protests in the country continue, according to reports. The BBC confirmed that the morgue was overflowing at Poursina Hospital in Rasht city after at least 70 bodies were brought there overnight. Elsewhere, a medic at a Tehran hospital said their staff was in crisis mode after protesters were brought in with "direct shots to the heads" and "to their hearts as well".

The Trump administration is considering military options in response to some of the most widespread demonstrations in the Islamic Republic’s history, U.S. officials said late Saturday, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.