Iran's Supreme Leader vows 'crackdown' as protests endure

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.

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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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