**Hackers Disrupt Iranian State TV to Broadcast Pro-Monarch, Anti-Crackdown Message**

The latest development in the ongoing crisis in Iran comes as hackers disrupted the country's state television satellite transmissions to broadcast a pro-monarch, anti-crackdown message.

The hacking incident occurred on Sunday night, with footage aired across multiple channels broadcast by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the country's state broadcaster. The video included clips of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, as well as security forces and others in what appeared to be Iranian police uniforms.

The footage claimed that others had "laid down their weapons and sworn an oath of allegiance to the people," and was accompanied by a graphic reading: "This is a message to the army and security forces. Don't point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran."

This is not the first time Iranian airwaves have been disrupted. In 1986, The Washington Post reported that the CIA supplied Pahlavi's allies with a miniaturized television transmitter for an 11-minute clandestine broadcast to Iran.

The hacking comes as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington over the crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran. President Donald Trump has drawn two red lines for the Islamic Republic: the killing of peaceful protesters and mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations.

Meanwhile, a U.S. aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, has been spotted passing through the Strait of Malacca, putting it on a route that could bring it to the Middle East. The ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press showed that the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy, and the USS Spruance were also traveling with the Lincoln.

The death toll in the crackdown has reached at least 4,029 people, according to activists. This is the highest number of fatalities in a round of protests or unrest in Iran in decades, recalling the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has been tracking the death toll and reports that over 26,000 people have been arrested. The agency warns that the number of fatalities is likely to rise as information leaks out of a country still gripped by the government's decision to shut down the internet.

Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has blamed Trump for inciting anti-government protests in Iran, while Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll. However, on Saturday, Khamenei said the protests had left "several thousand" people dead.

The Munich Security Conference and the World Economic Forum have separately withdrawn invitations for Iranian government officials to speak at their events over the crackdown. The WEF stated that the decision was an "unreasonable act which was no doubt under the pressure and influence of anti-Iranian currents and radical American-Zionists."

Vancouver-based journalist from Iran, Amir Taghavi, believes that protesters in Iran would welcome U.S. intervention. "I think they (protesters) will definitely appreciate any kind of support or help from the international community, especially from the United States," he said.