The protests persist this Saturday throughout the country after they broke out two weeks ago in the alleys of the Tehran Bazaar, and they do so despite going through the third consecutive day with the internet blockade imposed by the authorities. Despite the information blackout, human rights groups with contacts on the ground and state news agencies report a growing number of fatalities and gunshot wounds, as well as the spread of riots and arson. Faced with this situation, the authorities of the Islamic Republic have threatened to repress “with the greatest force” the “troublemakers,” whom they distinguish from legitimate protesters and link to external agents.
He raised his tone this Saturday, warning that he will remain on alert to torpedo what he considers “conspiracies of the enemy,” in apparent reference to the United States and Israel, whom he accuses of putting national security at risk. The statement is the latest in a succession of similar messages that Iranian leaders have launched against their own population. The National Security Council warned on local television on Friday that security and judicial authorities are prepared to deal with individuals who favor what it described as foreign agendas.
While thousands of citizens took to the streets, outraged by the devaluation of the currency, the supreme leader, in the last few hours, has published 12 messages on social networks directed mainly at Washington: “Today, as in the past, the United States is wrong in its calculations about Iran.” Simultaneously, the president reiterated his threat against Iran on Friday. “They have a big problem,” alleged the Republican, who has stated on two other occasions that he will intervene if the repression claims lives. “It seems that people are taking over cities where no one thought it was possible weeks ago.”
Various reports suggest the continuation of clashes between protesters and security forces. HRANA, based in the United States, mentions the existence of 65 fatalities during the demonstrations, which have spread to 180 cities in the country. At least 50 of these victims would be civilians, and among these, 7 would be minors. The organization also records 15 deaths among the ranks of the security forces, suggesting the harshness of some clashes and the violence exerted by some protesters.
Medical sources at Farabi Hospital, a specialized ophthalmology center located in Tehran, acknowledged to the BBC on Friday that the institution is overwhelmed with the arrival of injured people. The hospital, they added, has been forced to enter a state of emergency, suspending non-urgent visits. In Shiraz, a municipality in southwestern Iran, another hospital told the British network on Thursday that it lacks enough surgeons to care for the number of injured people arriving at the center, in many cases with gunshot wounds to the head and eyes. This information suggests that the death toll counts are at least provisional.
A state station that is broadcast abroad and that broadcasts the predominant discourse among the authorities denounces this Saturday the hand of the “troublemakers”, broadcasting images of several multi-story buildings engulfed in flames. One of those blocks, according to the portal, is the City Hall of a suburb of Tehran. Ali Larijani, secretary of the National Security Council, summarizes the message that Tehran’s leaders have been spreading: protests over economic problems are legitimate, but the United States and Israel are trying to take advantage of this to destabilize the country by deploying paid mercenaries, and to that the authorities will respond “with the greatest force,” Larijani detailed on Friday.
At the end of December, groups of merchants began to mobilize in the capital’s bazaar in the face of economic instability, which has plunged the value of the Iranian rial and is leading many residents to look for second and third jobs or even opt for emigration. As occurred during previous cycles of mobilizations —2009, 2022—, the protests soon reflected a general fatigue with the authorities. Many Iranians accuse the Islamic Republic of implementing a foreign policy that isolates the country from the world, placing it under international sanctions. Others abhor religious regulations—such as the mandatory veil—or link the deterioration of living conditions with the spread of corruption, fostered by parallel circuits that try to avoid sanctions to which only some authorities have access.
The crown prince of the Shah’s dynasty, Reza Pahlavi, whose crown was dethroned during the 1979 revolution that saw the emergence of the current Islamic Republic, is trying to encourage protesters from abroad. This Saturday, Pahlavi, a resident of Washington and away from his country for almost half a century, called on the country to mobilize on Saturday and Sunday, and promised his followers in a statement that he will return to Iranian territory “when our national revolution is victorious.”
The day before, the son of the last Shah, Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, made a direct appeal to Trump. “President, please prepare to intervene to help the people of Iran.” Although analysts believe that support for his figure is a minority, several videos have shown chants in favor of the heir to the crown: “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return!” Trump has for now ruled out meeting publicly with Pahlavi and has asked to show who “emerges” among the protests, but his intervention is expected to be necessary for the prince’s return to improve his prognosis.
Tehran sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council on Friday denouncing the interference of the United States, which they blame for turning the protests into “violent subversive acts and widespread vandalism.” But the UN seems to be going in the opposite direction. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres, emphasized on Friday that “people have the right to peacefully demonstrate around the world.”
At the same time, human rights organizations denounced the Iranian authorities on Thursday for using excessive use of force and firearms during the protests. Specifically, the groups pointed out both the regular police and the Revolutionary Guard, the parallel army intended to protect the regime, for using rifles and shotguns loaded with steel pellets.
