Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday (January 9) accused protesters of acting on behalf of U.S. President Donald Trump.
In an address broadcast on state TV, He said rioters were attacking public properties and warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as "mercenaries for foreigners".
Khamenei said “Last night in Tehran and some other places, a bunch of vandals showed up and destroyed buildings belonging to their own country, just to please the U.S. president.”
“The Islamic Republic was established with the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people, and it will not back down in the face of those who engage in destruction, nor will it tolerate mercenaries serving foreign powers.” he added.
The Iranian leader, who has been in power since 1989, also said that President Trump's hands "are stained with blood of more than a thousand Iranian martyred during the 12-day war [with Israel]".
Iran's fragmented external opposition factions called for more protests on Friday with Reza Pahlavi, exiled son of the late ruling shah, telling Iranians in a social media post: "The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets."
Trump, who bombed Iran last summer and who last week warned Tehran it could come to the protesters' aid, said on Friday he would not meet Pahlavi and was "not sure that it would be appropriate" to back him.
Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb expanding protests, with phone calls not reaching the country, flights cancelled and online Iranian news sites only intermittently updating.
The protests that began over soaring inflation in the Islamic Republic late last month have spiralled into the biggest for three years, with unrest reported in every province and rights groups documenting dozens of deaths.
Meanwhile the protests have led to travel disruptions as Flydubai cancelled all flights to Iran.
An airline person confirmed to BBC that all of its flights to Iran today have been cancelled due to the ongoing unrest in the country.
The company says it will continue to monitor the situation closely and stay in touch with passengers affected.
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Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
In a dramatic shake-up at the top of the U.S. Justice Department, President Donald Trump has removed Attorney General Pam Bondi from her post, a White House official confirmed on Thursday.
Britain said on Thursday that around 40 countries are exploring ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping route effectively blocked by Iran amid ongoing conflict. The U.S. did not take part in the discussions.
American President Donald Trump threatened on Wednesday to pull the United States out of NATO after European nations refused to join a U.S.-led naval mission to unblock the Strait of Hormuz.
Fears of wider escalation grow despite President Donald Trump saying U.S. strikes on Iran could end within weeks. Meanwhile missile attacks, tanker incidents and rising casualties across Israel, Lebanon and the Gulf heighten risks to regional stability and energy routes.
There are fears of an oil spill after a drone strike hit a Kuwaiti oil tanker near Dubai on Tuesday, while U.S.-Israeli strikes in Iran reportedly killed at least two people. A loud explosion was heard in Beirut in southern Lebanon early Wednesday, as oil prices climbed above $100 a barrel.
Russian-flagged tanker carrying approximately 700,000 barrels of crude oil docked at Cuba's Matanzas oil terminal on Tuesday, shipping data confirmed, marking a vital and controversial delivery to an island paralysed by severe energy shortages and a suffocating U.S. blockade.
Four astronauts blasted off from Florida on Wednesday on NASA's Artemis II mission, a high-stakes voyage around the moon that marks the United States' boldest step yet toward returning humans to the lunar surface later this decade in a race with China.
A Russian military An-26 aircraft has crashed in Crimea, killing all 30 people on board, Russia’s Defence Ministry has confirmed.
Former Kyrgyz MP Shairbek Tashiev has been detained in a corruption investigation linked to state oil firm Kyrgyzneftegaz, as the case expands to include members of a powerful political family.
Afghanistan remains the third most affected country globally for unexploded ordnance casualties, with more than 50 people killed or injured each month, a United Nations official has said.
Leading Turkish official Fuat Oktay this week called for the dismantling of Israel’s alleged nuclear weapons stockpile. The head of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Israel’s nuclear capability should be “eliminated as soon as possible”.
Fresh Houthi missile and drone strikes on Israel mark a significant widening of the Iran-centred conflict, raising fears the Yemen-based group could open a new front. Their position near the Bab el-Mandeb strait also threatens global shipping and energy flows.
Pakistan is holding talks with Afghanistan to end the worst conflict between the South Asian neighbours since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Thursday.
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