Demonstrators across Iran have continued to defy an intensifying crackdown by authorities, pouring into the streets despite an expanding security response, an almost total internet shutdown, and explicit threats of harsh punishment from senior officials. The protests, now among the most sustained and geographically widespread in the country in recent years, pose a mounting challenge to the Islamic Republic at a moment analysts say the regime appears unusually vulnerable.
An internet blackout imposed by authorities on Thursday has largely cut protesters off from the outside world, but videos that have trickled out despite the shutdown show thousands of people demonstrating in Tehran overnight into Saturday morning. In footage verified by AFP, crowds can be heard chanting “Death to Khamenei,” a direct reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and “Long live the shah,” invoking nostalgia for the Pahlavi monarchy overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution.
New protests broke out late on Saturday, with people rallying in a northern district of Tehran, according to another video verified by AFP. Fireworks were set off over Punak Square as demonstrators banged pots, shouted slogans, and waved flags associated with the pre-revolutionary era. The scenes underscored the increasingly political tone of the unrest, which has moved well beyond its initial economic grievances.
Demonstrations were also reported in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city and the hometown of Khamenei himself. Videos showed crowds marching through streets illuminated by burning fires, a potent display of defiance in a city long regarded as a conservative stronghold. Khamenei has condemned the protesters as “vandals” and accused the United States of stoking unrest, claims that have been repeated across state media.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), more than 570 protests have taken place across all of Iran’s 31 provinces since the unrest began. The scale of the demonstrations highlights the depth of anger coursing through the country, even as authorities have sought to choke off communication and deter participation through fear.
The crisis has been further inflamed by sharp rhetoric from Washington. Former US president Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene if Iranian authorities kill protesters, prompting angry rebukes from Tehran. On Friday, Trump warned that Iranian leaders were “in big trouble,” adding: “You better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too.” On Saturday night, he said the United States was “ready to help” as the crackdown intensified.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, without elaborating on what such help might entail.
Iranian officials swiftly responded. On Sunday, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf warned that the US military and Israel would be considered “legitimate targets” if America attacked the Islamic Republic. His comments marked the first time an Iranian official explicitly added Israel into the mix of potential targets linked to Trump’s threats.
Qalibaf, a hard-liner and former Revolutionary Guard commander, made the remarks as lawmakers rushed the parliamentary dais, chanting “Death to America!” The scene reflected the increasingly confrontational posture adopted by Iranian leaders as protests spread.
At home, authorities have sought to intimidate protesters through dire warnings. The country’s attorney general, Mohammad Mahvadi Azad, said ahead of Saturday’s demonstrations that anyone taking part would be considered an “enemy of God,” a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law. State television later clarified that even assisting protesters could expose individuals to the same charge.
Despite these warnings, calls for renewed demonstrations continued. Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, urged people to take to the streets on Saturday and Sunday and to seize control of their towns. Pahlavi, who has emerged as an increasingly prominent figure during the current unrest, called on Iranians to hoist the pre-1979 “lion and sun” flag used during his father’s rule.
“Our goal is no longer merely to come into the streets,” Pahlavi said in a message to supporters. “The goal is to prepare to seize city centres and hold them.” He added that he would return to Iran soon, a claim that electrified supporters but drew scorn from officials.
The sweeping internet and mobile network blackout has made it difficult for international media to estimate the true size of the demonstrations or independently verify many claims emerging from inside Iran. Nevertheless, activists who have managed to evade the shutdown using satellite services such as Starlink describe an atmosphere of anger, fear, and escalating violence.
“We’re standing up for a revolution, but we need help,” one protester in Tehran told the Guardian via sporadic text messages sent through Starlink. The protester claimed that snipers had been stationed behind the Tajrish Arg area, a wealthy neighborhood in the capital, and said many people had been shot across the city. “We saw hundreds of bodies,” the message said.
The Asia Live said it could not independently verify those claims, and human rights groups have also cautioned that confirmation of reported violations is extremely difficult under the current communications blackout. However, another activist in Tehran told the newspaper they had witnessed security forces firing live ammunition at protesters and described the number of people killed as “very high.”
HRANA has reported that at least 116 people have been killed in violence linked to the protests, with more than 2,600 others detained. Rights groups and Iranian authorities alike have also acknowledged casualties among security forces, which officials blame on foreign-backed “saboteurs.”
The Nobel peace prize laureate Shirin Ebadi warned on Friday that security forces could be preparing to carry out a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout.” She said she had received reports of hundreds of people being treated for eye injuries at a single Tehran hospital, injuries often associated with the use of pellet guns or targeted shooting.
The protests initially erupted on 28 December, sparked by a rapidly deteriorating economy marked by soaring inflation, unemployment, and declining living standards. They quickly evolved into broader demonstrations against corruption, repression, and the political system itself, with chants openly calling for the downfall of the supreme leader.
Although Iran has experienced mass protests before, analysts say the current unrest is unfolding in a different strategic context. The regime has been battered by a recent 12-day war with Israel and by the weakening of Iranian-backed forces across the region, developments that may have undermined its aura of strength.
Iranian authorities have responded with increasingly aggressive rhetoric, portraying protesters as pawns of Israel or the United States. In a statement on Saturday, the Iranian army vowed to foil “the enemy’s plots,” warning that any attempt to undermine national security was a “red line.”
State television has attempted to project an image of normality, describing protests as isolated disturbances in an otherwise calm country. One anchor warned demonstrators not to go out and urged parents to keep their children at home. “If something happens, if someone is injured, if a bullet is fired and something happens to them, do not complain,” the anchor said on air.
Internationally, governments have voiced support for protesters. European Union states and US officials posted messages backing demonstrators, with US secretary of state Marco Rubio saying on X: “The United States supports the brave people of Iran.”
Iranian officials, meanwhile, have tried to divide protesters into “legitimate” demonstrators with economic grievances and “rioters” allegedly backed by foreign powers. The government has claimed it is open to dialogue with the former, even as human rights groups report increasing, generalized violence against crowds.
A video verified by Iran Human Rights showed distraught family members searching through a pile of bodies at Ghadir Hospital in Tehran on Thursday. The group said the bodies were those of protesters killed by security forces. Separately, Fars news agency, which is close to the security services, aired footage of what appeared to be forced confessions by detained protesters. Rights advocates warned that such confessions, themselves a human rights violation, are often used as evidence in cases that lead to executions.
As the internet blackout drags on, activists say documenting both the momentum of the protests and alleged abuses has become increasingly difficult. They have pleaded with international media to maintain coverage, warning that the lack of scrutiny could embolden further violence.
“Please make sure to state clearly that they are killing people with live ammunition,” one Iranian activist said, capturing the urgency felt by many as the standoff between protesters and the state enters a dangerous new phase.
