Iran Threatens Death Penalty For Protesters, Steps Up Crackdown | Top Updates

Last Updated:January 10, 2026, 23:28 IST

Protests have spread across Iran since December 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule.

Iran’s protests continue to spread, with major demonstrations recorded across dozens of cities as crowds rally against economic hardship, soaring inflation, and political repression. Growing unrest reflects widespread frustration with the regime’s handling of the economy and governance. (Image: Getty)

Iran Unrest: Protests sweeping across Iran neared the two-week mark Saturday, with the country’s government acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Saturday said that a group of saboteurs demolished buildings in Tehran and other Iranian cities in order to please US President Donald Trump. He further slammed Washington, saying that how the latter encircled a country in Latin America and carried out operations there.

“You can see how they besieged a country in Latin America and carried out certain actions there. They aren’t even ashamed of it and explicitly declare that it was for the oil. For the oil! They say they did this for the oil!" Khamenei said in a post on X.

Iran Warns Of Death Penalty

Meanwhile, Iran’s attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, has warned that anyone participating in demonstrations will be considered an “enemy of God", a charge that comes with the death penalty under Iranian law.

Article 186 of the Iranian law states that if a group or organisation engages in armed opposition to the Islamic Republic, all members or supporters who knowingly assist its aims may be considered ‘mohareb’ (enemies of God), even if they do not personally participate in armed activities.

The punishments for ‘mohareb’, outlined in Article 190 of the code, are severe and include execution, hanging, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or permanent internal exile.

Iranian authorities also indicated that they could intensify their crackdown on the biggest anti-government demonstrations in years, with the Revolutionary Guards blaming unrest on terrorists and vowing to safeguard the governing system.

A day after Trump issued a new warning that the United States could intervene, there were fresh reports of violence across the country, although an internet blackout made it difficult to assess the full extent of unrest.

Revolt To Topple Clerical Rulers

State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed “rioters". State TV broadcast footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.

Footage posted on social media showed large crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street at night.

In a video showing a nighttime protest in Tehran’s Saadatabad district, a man is heard saying the crowd had taken over the area.

“The crowd is coming. ‘Death to the dictator’, ‘.Death to Khamenei’," he said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reuters verified the locations of the videos.

Protests have spread across Iran since December 28, beginning in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the US and Israel of fomenting unrest.

Iranian rights group HRANA says at least 50 protesters and 15 security personnel have been killed, and some 2,300 arrested.

Exiled Prince Calls For Mass Uprising

Meanwhile, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.

Reza Pahlavi on Saturday called for a coordinated nationwide uprising in Iran, urging protesters to seize control of city centres, launch strikes in key economic sectors and sustain street protests to bring down the Islamic Republic.

In a post on X, Pahlavi praised demonstrators for returning to the streets across Iran despite threats from the country’s leadership, saying their actions had shaken the ruling establishment.

Pahlavi said the next phase of protests must be more targeted and disruptive, calling on workers in critical sectors, including transportation, oil, gas and energy, to begin a nationwide strike.

He said cutting off what he described as the regime’s “financial lifelines" would cripple its ability to suppress dissent.

Pahlavi’s Appeal To Trump

Pahlavi has also urged Trump to intervene, citing deadly crackdowns and a communications blackout.

“Millions of brave Iranians are facing live bullets and now a total blackout, no internet, no landlines," he wrote in a post addressed to Trump, calling for urgent international action.

“Mr President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support, and action," Pahlavi wrote, addressing Trump as a “man of peace and a man of your word".

The exiled leader, who resides in the Washington area, claimed that millions of “brave Iranians" had taken to the streets on Thursday night following his direct call for mass mobilisation.

Iran grapples with widespread unrest driven by economic hardship, inflation and anger at the clerical leadership. The protests have entered their second week, with authorities imposing internet restrictions and intensifying security measures in several cities.

(With inputs from agencies)

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