Iran leader says anti-government protesters are vandals trying to please Trump

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called anti-government protesters “troublemakers” and “a bunch of vandals” just trying “to please the president of the US”.

He accused crowds of destroying buildings because Donald Trump said he “supports you”. Trump has warned Iran that if it kills protesters, the US would “hit” the country “very hard”.

The protests, in their 13th day, erupted over the economy and have grown into the largest in years – leading to calls for an end to the Islamic Republic and some urging the restoration of the monarchy.

At least 48 protesters and 14 security personnel, have been killed, according to human rights groups. An internet blackout is in place.

Khamenei remained defiant in a televised address on Friday.

“Let everyone know that the Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny this,” the 86-year-old said.

Since protests began on 28 December, in addition to the 48 protesters killed, more than 2,277 individuals have also been arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said at least 51 protesters, including nine children, had been killed.

BBC Persian has spoken to the families of 22 of them and confirmed their identities. The BBC and most other international news organisations are barred from reporting inside Iran.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on Friday saying it would not tolerate the continuation of the current situation in the country.

Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah who was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic revolution, called on Trump on Friday to “be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran”.

Pahlavi, who lives close to Washington DC, had urged protesters to take to the streets on Thursday and Friday.

Protests have taken place across the country, with BBC Verify verifying videos from 67 locations.

On Friday, protesters amassed after weekly prayers in the south-eastern city of Zahedan, videos verified by BBC Persian and BBC Verify show. In one of the videos, people can be heard chanting “death to the dictator”, referencing Khamenei.

In another, protesters gather near a local mosque, when several loud bangs can be heard.

Another verified video from Thursday showed a fire at the office of the Young Journalists Club, a subsidiary of state broadcaster Irib, in the city of Isfahan. It is unclear what caused the fire and if anyone was injured.

Photos received by the BBC from Thursday night also show cars overturned and set alight at Tehran’s Kaaj roundabout.

The country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday evening, with minor amounts of traffic returning on Friday, internet monitoring groups Cloudfare and Netblocks said. That means less information is emerging from Iran.

IHRNGO director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said in a statement that “the extent of the government’s use of force against protesters has been increasing, and the risk of intensified violence and the widespread killing of protesters after the internet shutdown is very serious”.

Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi has warned of a possible “massacre” during the internet shutdown.

One person who was able to send a message to the BBC said he was in Shiraz, in southern Iran. He reported a run on supermarkets by residents trying to stock up on food and other essentials, expecting worse days to come.

The shutdown of the internet has meant that cash machines are not working, and there is no way to pay for purchases in shops where debit cards cannot be used due to the lack of internet.

Mahsa Alimardani, who works for the human rights NGO Witness, told the BBC in London that she had not been able to make contact with her family since Thursday evening.

“It’s very anxiety-inducing, not having access to information, not knowing if your loved ones participated [in the protests] or if they’re okay,” she said.

The protests began nearly two weeks ago with shopkeepers in Tehran angry about the collapsing currency, before spreading to students and street demonstrations.

The last major protests were in 2022, when demonstrations erupted after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman who was detained by morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.

More than 550 people were killed and 20,000 detained by security forces over several months, according to human rights groups.

Additional reporting by Reha Kansara and Kasra Naji