Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader/WANA (West Asia News Agency)Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called the anti-government protesters “instigators” and “a bunch of vandals” who were just trying “to please the US president”.
He accused people of destroying buildings because Donald Trump said “he supports you”. Trump warned Iran that if it kills protesters, the US will “hit” the country “very hard”.
The protests, now in their 13th day, have hit the economy and grown to the largest in years – leading to calls for the end of the Islamic Republic and some calling for the restoration of the monarchy.
At least 48 protesters and 14 security personnel were killed, according to human rights groups. The internet blackout is on.
Khamenei remained defiant in a televised speech on Friday.
“Let everyone know that the Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of several hundred thousand noble people and it will not back down in the face of those who deny it,” said the 86-year-old.
Since the protests began on December 28, in addition to 48 protesters killed, more than 2,277 individuals have also been arrested, the US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) said at least 51 protesters, including nine children, were killed.
BBC Persian spoke to the families of 22 of them and confirmed their identities. The BBC and most other international news organizations are banned from reporting inside Iran.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement on Friday saying that they will not allow the continuation of the current situation in the country.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s last shah who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution, called on Trump on Friday to “get ready to intervene to help the people of Iran”.
Pahlavi, who lives near Washington DC, encouraged protesters to take to the streets on Thursday and Friday.
Protests took place across the country, with BBC Verify confirming videos from 67 locations.
On Friday, protesters gathered after weekly prayers in the southeastern city of Zahedan, videos confirmed by BBC Persian and the BBC Verify show. In one of the videos, people can be heard chanting “death to the dictator”, referring to Khamenei.
Meanwhile, protesters gathered near a local mosque, when several loud bangs were 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 not yet known what caused the fire and if anyone was injured.
Photos received by the BBC from Thursday evening also show vehicles overturned and adrift at Tehran’s Kaaj roundabout.
The country has been under a near-total internet blackout since Thursday night, with a small amount of traffic returning on Friday, internet monitoring groups Cloudfare and Netblocks said. That means little 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 is increasing, and the risk of intensified violence and mass killing of protesters after the internet shutdown is very serious”.
Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi warned of a possible “massacre” during the internet shutdown.
A person who sent a message to the BBC said he was in Shiraz, in southern Iran. He reported a rush to supermarkets by residents trying to stock up on food and other necessities, anticipating worse days to come.
The shutdown of the internet means that cash machines do not work, and there is no way to pay for purchases in stores 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 has not been in contact with her family since Thursday night.
“It causes anxiety, not having access to information, not knowing if your loved ones participated (in the protests) or if they are okay,” he said.
The protests began nearly two weeks ago with shopkeepers in Tehran angry about the collapse of the currency, before spreading to students and street demonstrations.
The last major protests were in 2022, when demonstrations erupted following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young Kurdish woman detained by the morality police for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
More than 550 people have been killed and 20,000 have been imprisoned by security forces for several months, according to human rights groups.
Regental Reha Kiana Chana visited the Kasra of Kasra Naji