Protests in Iran continued into Friday night even as the authorities cut off the country from the internet and from international telephone calls, limiting what could be independently verified in real time. Activists shared short online videos purportedly showing demonstrations and clashes in Tehran and other areas, but it was not immediately possible to assess whether the demonstrations were continuing at the same intensity as earlier rallies.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking to a crowd at his compound in Tehran, dismissed the U.S. President as meddling in Iran’s unrest. In comments carried by Iranian state television, he said protesters were “ruining their own streets … in order to please the president of the United States,” adding, “Because he said that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead.” The reporting also said Khamenei dismissed Donald Trump as having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians.”
The crackdown signal came from Iran’s top leadership and judiciary as the protests shifted into a second day of renewed street activity. The reporting said Iranian state media referred to demonstrators as “terrorists.” Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei separately vowed punishment for protesters “will be decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency.”
The protests, which began in late December over Iran’s ailing economy, have grown into the most significant challenge to the government in years, according to the reporting. It said at least 65 people have been killed since the unrest began. It also said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that more than 2,300 others have been detained.
The unrest included chants captured in footage aired by Iranian state television. Protesters shouted “Death to America!” as Khamenei addressed his audience. In videos circulated online, the reporting said a man chanted “Death to Khamenei!” during street demonstrations.
International condemnation followed as European leaders urged restraint and protections for public expression. The reporting said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron issued a joint statement condemning reported deadly violence against protesters and urging Iran to allow citizens to express themselves without fear of reprisal.
Shirin Ebadi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said more Western governments should denounce Iran’s theocracy. In a statement cited by the reporting, Ebadi said it “has made cruelty a governing method,” and added, “But a government that shoots peaceful protesters … at home cannot claim moral authority anywhere.”
In Washington, the reporting said Trump tied his warning to the possibility of U.S. action if Iranian authorities kill protesters. Trump said “Iran’s in big trouble” and suggested any possible American strike wouldn’t “mean boots on the ground but that means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.” The reporting said he also warned Iranian leaders, “you better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
With communications cut inside Iran, the reporting described a reliance on activist-shared clips that showed fires and crowds in parts of Tehran. One online video, according to the reporting, showed a fire in the street near Saadat Abad in northern Tehran, with what appeared to be thousands on the street. Other footage and reporting also suggested that the shutdown of communication channels likely made it harder to track the scale of the unrest and could have provided cover for security forces to kill protesters.
The protests also tested whether the Iranian public could be mobilized by a call from Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose father fled Iran before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The reporting said Pahlavi called for demonstrations at 8 p.m. Thursday and again at 8 p.m. Friday. It quoted Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, saying, “What turned the tide of the protests was former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for Iranians to take to the streets at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,” and adding, “Per social media posts, it became clear that Iranians had delivered and were taking the call seriously to protest in order to oust the Islamic Republic.”
The reporting said the protests included chants against the leadership and also included support for the shah, with demonstrations beginning in Tehran shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday. It said security services warned families to keep children home, and the demonstrations continued despite that warning.
Iranian state media blamed the unrest on violent actions and reported localized casualties. The reporting said State TV claimed the Thursday night protests were violent and caused casualties, and said they involved “people’s private cars, motorcycles, public places such as the metro, fire trucks and buses set on fire.” It said State TV later reported that violence overnight killed six people in Hamedan, about 280 kilometers (175 miles) southwest of Tehran, and two security force members in Qom, about 125 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital.