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By Mandy Taheri
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Iranians continue to take to the streets across the country as protests intensify and the government clamps down, having cut off internet access and threatening protestors with harsh penalties.
On Saturday, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, Iran’s attorney general, warned that demonstrators would be considered an “enemy of God” (mohareb), a death-penalty charge, according to the Associated Press.
Georgetown University professor Nader Hashemi told Newsweek in an email Saturday, the government, who has been unable to stop protests from popping up, “is relying on a standard tactic from the authoritarian playbook—block access to information and repress the protests using brute force.”
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Newsweek has reached out to several Iran scholars and experts for comment via email on Saturday.
Why It Matters
Unrest in Iran flared again at the end of December, but unlike other recent protests in the country, the latest demonstrations were sparked by merchants angered by economic turmoil. The rial has tumbled, inflation has surged, and the cost-of-living has gone out of reach for many, prompting thousands of people across regions and economic classes to take to the streets across the country.
Iran’s government has shut down the internet and cut phone lines, a tactic they have used before over the years, increasing fears of violence against protestors. This shutdown has been reported to be one of the longest and most widespread in the country.
At least 72 people have been killed in the protests and over 2,300 others have been detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. However, Masih Alinejad, a prominent Iranian activist and journalist living in the United States, said “hundreds of protesters” have been killed.
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What To Know
Iranian authorities signaled an intensified crackdown on protesters, sending warnings and blame to the U.S. and Israel for stoking unrest and warning that demonstrators could face severe penalties. Earlier this week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry released as a statement condemning "the meddlesome and deceptive remarks of the US officials regarding Iran’s internal developments, describing them as a clear indication of the continuation of Washington's hostility toward the great nation of Iran."
In a Saturday statement, Azad said, per state media: “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. Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence.”
Protests in Iran have repeatedly flared over the years, with thousands pouring out during the 2009 Green Movement, 2018 protests over gas prices, and recently the 2022 Women Life Freedom protests.
Members of oppositions groups and dissidents have been charged with moharebeh before. During the last major uprising in 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody, Majidreza Rahnavard was accused of fatally stabbing two Basij militia guards during a protest and subsequently was charged with moharebeh and executed.
Vali Nasr, a professor of Middle East studies and international affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), told Newsweek, "in the past that accusation has carried the death sentence."
Verified news and footage from inside Iran is difficult to obtain, but social media videos circulating show thousands of protestors pouring into the streets, many chanting anti-regime slogans. Information from inside the country has further been complicated following the internet cut off since Thursday.
The U.S., which has had a strained, distrustful relationship with Iran since the 1979 Iranian Revolution, has been increasingly vocal on Iran in recent days. Last week, President Donald Trump voiced support for the protesters and warned Iran that the U.S. is "locked and loaded and ready to go."
A senior Iranian official told The Telegraph on Saturday: “The leader has ordered the Sepah [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] to remain on the highest level of readiness—even higher than during the June war." In mid-June 2025, Israel conducted a series of airstrikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities, with Iran retaliating. The U.S., meanwhile, bombed three Iranian nuclear sites. Over 1,000 people were killed in Iran during that time, and 28 reported in Israel.
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What People Are Saying
Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Newsweek in an email: "If he [Azad] said that then it only reinforces a basic reality we have known for days now: the regime is deeply panicked and now will throw everything it has to crush the popular uprising.”
Georgetown University professor Nader Hashemi told Newsweek in an email Saturday: “It is clear the Islamic Republic is in full panic mode over the protests that have rocked Iran…I’m remined of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989 in China.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an X post early Saturday: "The United States supports the brave people of Iran."
President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post on Saturday: "Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"
United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner Volker Türk said in a January 9 statement: "I am deeply disturbed by reports of violence during nationwide protests in Iran over the past 13 days, including reported deaths and destruction of property. The right to peaceful protest, as enshrined in international law, must be protected. All deaths should be promptly, independently, and transparently investigated. Those responsible for any violations must be held to account in line with international norms and standards."
**Iranian Foreign Ministry said in a January 7 statement: "**What the US government is pursuing against Iran today is not merely an economic war; rather, it is a combination of psychological warfare, a media campaign to disseminate false information, threats of military intervention, and incitement to violence and terrorism, all of which stand in clear contradiction to the principles of the UN Charter, peremptory norms of international law, and the fundamental foundations of the international human rights system."
What Happens Next
It's unclear how long the protests and internet shut down will last. The U.S. has signaled support for protestors and following Trump's recent intervention in Venezuela, it's not clear what the U.S.'s response may be.
Many in the diaspora who have been protesting for Iranians, have carried posters or chanted slogans in support of Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, son of the last shah of Iran who was ousted in 1979. Some videos of protestors in Iran have also shown protestors shouting for Pahlavi's leadership.
Based in the U.S., Pahlavi has issued calls for an intensification of protests, urging demonstrators to "take to the streets and, as a united front, shout your demands." He has said he would return to Iran if circumstances permitted and help lead a transition to a more democratic system. There have been smaller calls for Pahlavi's return in recent years, although these appear to be the largest.
It is unclear what political alternative protesters are calling for, though their opposition to the ruling regime is clear.
Update 1/10/26, 6:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
Update 1/10/26, 1:39 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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