Iran steps up threats against protesters as demonstrations continue

Protests ravaging Iran nearly lasted two weeks on Saturday, with the country’s government acknowledging ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world.

With Iran’s internet disrupted and phone lines cut, it has become more difficult to assess the protests from abroad. But the death toll from the protests rose to at least 65 people, and more than 2,300 others were arrested, according to the American news agency Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state television reports security force casualties while describing control of the nation.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has announced an upcoming crackdown, despite warnings from the United States. Tehran stepped up its threats on Saturday, with Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warning that anyone taking part in protests would be considered an “enemy of God”, punishable by death.

The statement, broadcast by Iranian state television, said even those who “helped the rioters” would be prosecuted.

“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay prepare, by issuing indictments, the grounds for trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” the statement said. “Proceedings must be carried out without leniency, compassion or indulgence. »

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a statement on social media platform X in support of the Iranian people.

“The United States stands with the brave people of Iran,” Rubio wrote. The State Department separately warned: “Don’t play games with the president [Donald] Asset. When he says he will do something, he means it.

Online video contradicts state TV report

Saturday marks the start of the working week in Iran, but many schools and universities have reportedly held classes online, Iranian state television reported. Internal Iranian government websites are believed to be functioning.

State television repeatedly broadcast a rousing and martial orchestral arrangement of the Epic of Khorramshahr by Iranian composer Majid Entezami, during pro-government demonstrations.

The song, released repeatedly during Israel’s 12-day war, pays tribute to Iran’s liberation of the city of Khorramshahr in 1982 during the Iran-Iraq War. It has also been used in videos of women cutting their hair to protest the Death of Mahsa Amini in 2022.

“Reports on the ground indicate that peace reigned in most towns across the country at night,” a state television presenter reported. “After a number of armed terrorists attacked public places and burned private properties last night, there was no news of any gathering or chaos in Tehran and most provinces tonight.”

This was directly contradicted by an online video verified by The Associated Press that showed protests in the Saadat Abad neighborhood of northern Tehran with what appeared to be thousands of people in the streets.

“Death to Khamenei!” » » chanted a man.

The semi-official Fars news agency, considered close to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and one of the few outlets capable of reporting to the outside world, published surveillance camera footage showing what it said was from protests in Isfahan.

In it, one protester appeared to fire a long gun, while others lit fires and threw gasoline bombs at what appeared to be a government complex.

The Young Journalists’ Club, associated with state television, reported that protesters killed three members of the all-volunteer Basij force in the town of Gachsaran. It also reported that a security official was stabbed to death in Hamadan province, a police officer was killed in the port city of Bandar Abbas and another was killed in Gilan. Additionally, one person was killed in Mashhad.

State television also broadcast footage of a funeral service attended by hundreds of people in Qom, a Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran.

Other events planned for the weekend

Iran’s theocracy cut off internet and international phone calls to the nation on Thursday, while allowing some state and semi-official media outlets to publish. Qatar’s state-funded Al Jazeera news channel has been broadcasting live news from Iran, but it appears to be the only major foreign channel able to operate.

Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests on Thursday and Friday, demanded in his latest message that demonstrators take to the streets on Saturday and Sunday. He urged protesters to carry the old Iranian lion and sun flag and other national symbols used during the shah’s era to “claim public spaces as your own.”

Pahlavi’s support for Israel has drawn criticism in the past, particularly after the 12 Day War. Protesters have shouted in support of the Shah during some demonstrations, but it is unclear whether this is in support of Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The protests began on December 28 following the collapse of the Iranian rial, which trades at more than 1.4 million to the US dollar, as the country’s economy is strained by international sanctions imposed in part because of its nuclear program. The protests intensified and turned into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.