DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Iranian authorities said on Saturday they may step up their crackdown on the largest anti-government demonstrations in years, with the Revolutionary Guards blaming the unrest on terrorists and vowing to safeguard government systems.
Fresh reports of violence emerged across the country a day after President Donald Trump issued fresh warnings that the United States might intervene, although internet outages made it difficult to assess the full extent of the unrest.
The exiled son of Iran’s last king has emerged as a prominent voice in the fractured opposition, making his strongest calls yet for the protests to expand into a rebellion that ousts the clerical rulers.
State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters”. State television broadcast footage from the funerals of members of the security forces allegedly killed during protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamadan.
Videos on social media on Friday showed large crowds gathering in Tehran and fires being lit in the streets at night. Reuters confirmed the location by comparing landmarks with satellite images.
Protests have spread across Iran since December 28, initially in response to soaring inflation but quickly turning political, with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the United States and Israel of inciting the unrest.
Iranian human rights group HRANA said at least 50 protesters and 15 security personnel were killed and about 2,300 people were arrested.
Army says ‘terrorist group’ seeks to undermine security
A witness in western Iran reached by phone said the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had deployed and opened fire on the area where the witness was speaking, but declined to be named due to security concerns.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that 100 “armed thugs” were arrested in the town of Baharestan near Tehran.
In a statement broadcast on state television, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – an elite force that has suppressed previous rounds of unrest – accused “terrorists” of targeting military and law enforcement bases over the past two nights. Several citizens and security personnel were allegedly killed and public and private properties were set on fire.
Maintaining the results of the Islamic revolution and maintaining security is a “red line.”
The regular army also issued a statement saying it would “protect and safeguard national interests, national strategic infrastructure and public property.”
Pahlavi said the goal was to prepare to “occupy the city center”
In a video posted on X, 65-year-old American Reza Pahlavi said the Islamic Republic would “bring to its knees”. Reza Pahlavi’s father was overthrown as Shah of Iran in the 1979 revolution. He called on people to occupy town centers and said he was ready to return to Iran soon.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets; our goal is to prepare to capture and control urban centers,” he said.
Trump said on Thursday he was unwilling to meet with Pahlavi, a sign he was waiting to see how the crisis develops before backing the opposition leader.
Iran’s rulers have endured multiple turmoils, including student protests in 1999, disputed elections in 2009, economic hardship in 2019 and the death in custody of a woman accused of violating dress codes in 2022.
Trump, who joined Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities last summer, warned Tehran last week that the United States might provide aid to protesters. “You’d better not start shooting because we’re going to start shooting too,” he said on Friday.
“I just hope the protesters in Iran are safe because that’s a very dangerous place right now,” he added.
After sending troops to capture Venezuela’s president a week ago, he repeatedly put Iran on his list of possible next steps to intervene.
Some protesters on the streets chanted pro-Pahlavi slogans such as “Long live the king,” although most called for an end to clerical rule or demanded action to repair the economy.
Doctors say people were severely beaten or killed
A doctor in northwestern Iran said a large number of injured protesters had been taken to hospital since Friday. Some were severely beaten, suffering head injuries, broken legs and arms, and deep cuts.
At least 20 people were shot with live ammunition at one hospital, five of whom later died.
On Friday, Khamenei accused protesters of acting on Trump’s behalf, saying rioters were attacking public property and warning Tehran would not tolerate those acting as “foreign mercenaries.”
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ public relations office said Basij security forces clashed with so-called “armed thugs” in Gahsaran in the southwest, leaving three members dead and five injured.
Another security official was stabbed to death in Hamadan in western Iran. The son of senior military officer Brigadier Nourali Shushtari was killed in the Ahmedabad district of Mashhad in the northeast. Two other security personnel were killed in Shushtar, Khuzestan province, over the past two nights.
Authorities have said protests against the economy are legal while condemning violent rioters over the past two weeks.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom. Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Mark Porter and Peter Graf)
