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Protesters gather as vehicles burn, amid evolving anti-government unrest, in Tehran, Iran, in this screenshot obtained from a social media video posted January 9, 2026. PHOTO: REUTERS
PARIS:
Human rights groups expressed concern Saturday that Iranian authorities are escalating their deadly crackdown under the cover of an internet outage, following another night of massive protests in the largest demonstrations against the Islamic republic in years.
The two weeks of protests posed one of the greatest challenges to the theocratic authorities who have ruled Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, although Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed defiance and blamed the United States.
After the largest demonstration ever organized by the movement on Thursday, new demonstrations took place on Friday evening, according to images verified by AFP and other videos published on social networks.
And this despite an Internet shutdown imposed by the authorities, with the Netblocks monitor declaring on Saturday evening that “Iran has now been offline for 48 hours”.
Amnesty International said it had been analyzing “alarming reports since Thursday that security forces have intensified their unlawful use of lethal force against protesters,” in an escalation “that has led to further deaths and injuries.”
Iran’s Norway-based human rights organization said at least 51 people had been killed so far in the crackdown, warning that the real toll could be higher.
He published images, he said, of bodies of people shot dead during protests in Alghadir hospital in eastern Tehran.
“This footage provides further evidence of the excessive and deadly use of force against protesters,” IHR said.
Take over city centers
In Tehran’s Saadatabad district, people banged pots and chanted anti-government slogans, including “Death to Khamenei”, while cars honked their horns in support, a video verified by AFP showed.
Other images broadcast on social media and by Persian-language television channels outside Iran showed protests of a similar scale elsewhere in the capital, as well as in the eastern city of Mashhad, Tabriz in the north and the holy city of Qom.
In the western town of Hamedan, a man was shown waving a Shah-era Iranian flag depicting the lion and sun amid fires and dancing people.
The same flag briefly replaced the current Iranian flag on the country’s embassy in London, when protesters managed to reach the building’s balcony, witnesses told AFP.
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of the deposed Iranian shah, praised the “magnificent” turnout on Friday and urged Iranians to hold more targeted protests on Saturday and Sunday.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to capture and hold city centers,” Pahlavi said in a video message on social media.
Big problem
Pahlavi, whose father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was ousted by the 1979 revolution and died in 1980, added that he was also preparing to “return to his native country” at a time he believed was “very close.”
Authorities say several members of the security forces have been killed and Khamenei, in a defiant speech on Friday, blasted the “vandals” and accused the United States of fueling the protests.
On Thursday and Friday, an AFP journalist in Tehran saw streets deserted and plunged into darkness as any demonstration approached.
On Valiasr Avenue, one of Tehran’s main streets, businesses closed their doors unusually early.
“The neighborhood is not safe,” said a manager of the cafe as it prepared to close around 4 p.m.
An AFP journalist saw broken windows, as well as the deployment of security forces.
State television on Saturday broadcast images of the funerals of several members of the security forces killed during the protests, including during a large rally in the southern city of Shiraz.
It also broadcast images of buildings, including a mosque, on fire.
The Iranian military said in a statement that it would “vigorously protect and safeguard national interests” against an “enemy seeking to disrupt order and peace.”
National Security Council head Ali Larijani said in remarks broadcast Friday evening that “we are in the middle of a war,” with “these incidents being directed from the outside.”
The Norway-based rights group Hengaw said it had confirmed that five Kurdish men were shot dead by security forces in the western town of Kermanshah on Thursday and another man, a former bodybuilding champion, was killed in the northern city of Rasht on Friday.
World leaders have called on Iranian authorities for restraint, with European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen saying Europe supports mass protests by Iranians and condemns the “violent repression” against demonstrators.
On Saturday, the start of Iran’s work week, a man in Tehran said he could not check his work emails.
“This is the price to pay before the victory of the people,” he said.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that the United States was “ready to help” as protesters in Iran faced a growing crackdown by authorities in the Islamic republic.
“Iran is looking toward FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The United States is ready to help!!!” Trump said in a social post on Truth Social, without elaborating.
His comments came a day after he said Iran was in “great difficulty” and again warned he could order military strikes.
