Anti-government protests continued Friday night in Tehran and other cities, where thousands of residents poured into the streets, according to videos shared on social media, even though internet access has not been restored in the country.
Iranian protesters set fire to Karaj District Municipality building.
— Clash Report (@clashreport)
“Death to Khamenei” – Another night of chaos in Iran
Thirteen days after the start of Iran’s burgeoning protest movement, thousands of citizens took to the streets banging pots and pans, chanting slogans hostile to the country’s leadership — such as “death to Khamenei,” the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
In the Sadatabad district, in the northwestern part of Tehran, drivers honked their horns to show their support for the protesters, according to a video verified by AFP.
Other videos posted on social media platforms showed similar protests elsewhere in the Iranian capital. Demonstrations were also organized in the cities of Mashad (east), Tabriz (north) and Qom (center).
Self-exiled Iranian lawyer Shirin Ebadi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, expressed fears that the regime may try to quell the protests, arguing that cutting off internet access represented a “strategic choice” and was not due to a “technical problem”. He said that according to the information he had, hundreds of injured people were taken to hospitals on Thursday.
Dozens dead, injured and fears of a bloody crackdown
At least 62 protesters, including nine children, have died in Iran, while hundreds more have been injured. Meanwhile, more than 2,500 arrests have been made since the protests began on December 28, according to the non-governmental organization Iran Human Rights, based in Norway.
Report: Iran Protest Death Toll at 62
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that the death toll in Iran’s protests has risen to 62.
This comes as Iran’s navy holds drills with the Chinese Communist Party. has the details.
— Jason Perry (@JasonPerryNTD)
In a report by Iranian state television on the extent of the destruction during the protests, Tehran’s mayor said at least 42 buses, ambulances, and 10 government buildings had been set on fire.
“It seems to me that the people are ready to take control of some cities, which no one could have believed possible even a few weeks ago. We are monitoring the situation very closely,” the American president added.
“You better not start shooting, because we’re going to shoot too,” Donald Trump said to Iranian authorities.
“If they start killing people like they’ve done in the past, then we’re going to step in,” the Republican president continued, adding, “That doesn’t mean we’re going to send in ground troops, but it does mean we’re going to hit them really, really hard, where it hurts.”
Hard line from Khamenei
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declared on Friday that the Islamic Republic “will not back down” in the face of the wave of protests. Addressing supporters who chanted slogans such as “death to America”, Khamenei took an aggressive tone: “The Islamic Republic will not give in to saboteurs”, denouncing the vandalism of a building in Tehran on Thursday.
The Revolutionary Guards, the elite of Iran’s armed forces, called the situation “unacceptable”, vowing to defend the Islamic revolution. For its part, the judiciary has warned that rioters will face the maximum possible penalties.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blamed the US and Israel for involvement in the protests, ruling out scenarios of foreign military intervention.
“I have the impression that the people are ready to take control of some cities, which no one could have believed possible a few weeks ago,” commented US President Donald Trump, adding that Iran is facing “big problems”.
Pahlavi: “Trump should intervene without delay” – International reactions
The son of the former Shah of Iran and a leading figure in the exiled opposition, Reza Pahlavi, called on Donald Trump to intervene in Iran without delay.
Three European leaders – French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz – on Friday condemned the “killings of protesters” and the violent crackdown on demonstrations in Iran, calling on Iranian authorities to show “restraint”.
