Protests have been reported at more than 500 locations across 180 cities and towns.
Protests sweeping across Iran continued overnight into Jan. 10, with authorities in Tehran acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown, as U.S. President Donald Trump repeated warnings that the United States would step in if the Iranian regime escalates the use of lethal force against protesters.
The demonstrations began Dec. 28, 2025, over surging inflation and the collapse of the Iranian rial, but have since evolved into a broader political challenge to Iran’s clerical leadership.
Iranian authorities have signaled preparations for a harsher response after shutting down internet and phone access nationwide, severely limiting the flow of information and complicating efforts to verify casualty figures.
On Jan. 10, Iranian officials escalated their rhetoric further.
Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad warned that anyone participating in the protests would be treated as an “enemy of God,” a charge that under Iranian law carries the death penalty. Iranian state-run television, cited by The Associated Press, said the designation would also apply to those accused of assisting protesters, and prosecutors were instructed to move quickly and without leniency.
“Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country,” Azad said in a statement.
“Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion, or indulgence.”
A Jan. 10 message from Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guard warned protesters that safeguarding security was a “red line” not to be crossed, accusing “terrorists” of targeting military and law enforcement bases in recent days.
Iran’s regular military also issued a statement saying it would “protect and safeguard national interests, the country’s strategic infrastructure, and public property.”
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported that 100 “armed rioters” had been arrested in the town of Baharestan near Tehran.
Casualties Climb, Including 7 Children
The death toll over the past 13 days of protests has grown to at least 65 people killed and over 2,300 others detained, according to the latest Jan. 9 estimate from U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Among the dead are 50 protesters—including seven children—along with 14 members of law enforcement or security and one government-affiliated civilian.
By Tom Ozimek
