Al Jazeera Podcasts.

Today, Iranians are on the streets, protesting high costs and inflation.

President Trump posting, if Iran kills peaceful protesters, quote, the United States of America will come to their rescue,

we are locked and loaded and ready to go.

Fresh from forcing leadership change in Venezuela,

could the U.S. use the same playbook in Iran?

I'm Malika Bilal, and this is The Take.

Hey everyone, as you're watching today's show, leave us a comment telling us what you think about the protests in Iran and what should happen next.

If you're listening on your podcast app, leave us a review telling us where you're listening

from and give us a five-star rating while you're there. It really helps the show.

On Thursday, there were reports of an internet blackout in Iran.

Online monitoring group NetBlocks called it a digital censorship measure

of targeting protests across the country.

My guest has been following the twists and turns of the protests since they began.

I spoke to her just before the online blackout Thursday morning.

I'm Nagas Bajolai. I am an anthropologist, and I also had the Middle East Studies program at Johns Hopkins.

Well, Nargis, welcome back to the take. It's good to have you.

As you know, thousands of people are on the streets and cities across Iran for a second week of protests over the economy, protests in which dozens of people have reportedly been killed so far.

And though they've spread nationwide, what's notable about these demonstrations is where they started in the bazaars, with

merchants closing up shops and taking to the streets.

Paint a picture for us, if you could, of Tehran's Grand Bazaar, which has been at the heart

of some of these protests, and help us understand why it's significant that these demonstrations

...