Iran protests latest: At least 48 killed as Ayatollah threatens harsher crackdown

If you’re just tuning in, the Iranian regime is under increasing pressure as nationwide protests gain momentum.

At least 40 protesters and several police officers have been killed in clashes, according to rights groups and local media, with 2,200 arrests and counting.

The government switched off the internet to most of the country as opposition groups tried to rally action against the regime.

Maira Butt has the full story:

Donald Trump has been slow to endorse exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, despite supporting the protestors against the regime.

In comments to podcaster Hugh Hewitt, Trump indicated he would not be meeting with Pahlavi in the foreseeable future.

“I’ve watched him, and he seems like a nice person, but I’m not sure that it would be appropriate at this point to do that,” he said.

“I think that we should let everybody go out there and we see who emerges,” he added.

It has now been 24 hours since Iran implemented its nationwide internet shutdown, according to tracking agency Netblocks.

Iran’s exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi has called for the “support and action” of Donald Trump against the regime, after the US president threatened Iran with “hell” if demonstrators are killed.

“You have proven and I know you are a man of peace and a man of your word,” Pahlavi wrote in a post on social media on Friday afternoon, adding: “Please be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran.”

Pahlavi said it was Trump’s “threat to this criminal regime” that has “kept the regime’s thugs at bay” so far. He claimed the Ayatollah “wants to use this blackout to murder these young heroes”.

Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said today that the US and Israel were “directly intervening” in the major protests sweeping the nation, without providing evidence.

Araghchi claimed that they “have plans and want to interfere, and they are trying to take these protests and uprisings to the moment of violence”.

He also assessed the chance of foreign military intervention in Iran was “very low”.

He said the foreign minister of Oman, which has often interceded in negotiations between Iran and the West, would visit on Saturday.

The comments came Araghchi said yesterday that Iran does “not seek war, but we are fully prepared for it”, offering openness to negotiations with the US.

Donald Trump last week said he would come to the aid of demonstrators if Iran kills protestors.

Holly Dagres, senior fellow at The Washington Institute, and curator of The Iranist newsletter, tells The Independent’s Chief International Correspondent Bel Trew:

“The Islamic Republic has been in a state of paralysis since October 7, exacerbated by the 12-day war. The clerical establishment is ossified in its ways and unable to seriously address the systemic problems Iranians have been protesting for years.

“Recognising that reform is dead and conditions on the ground are worsening, Iranians have increasingly taken to the streets to demand the ouster of the Islamic Republic. We haven’t seen protests light up all thirty-one provinces with the exception of 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom but the numbers from Thursday appear to be the largest protests we’ve witnessed in Iran.

“[Exiled prince, Reza] Pahlavi certainly has some support—just listen to the chants. This didn’t come out of nowhere; there’s been nostalgia for pre-1979 Iran for a long time, and Pahlavi has an institutional legacy.”

Iran was largely cut off from the outside world on Friday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest.

Verified video already shared widely online has shown protests spreading to the majority of Iran’s provinces as the demonstrations gain momentum and threaten the regime.

There was also footage of past protests in other countries being falsely presented as Iran last night.

Protests have been spurred on by opposition factions online, including exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi, who wrote on social media on Friday: “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.”

The internet blackout has sharply reduced the amount of information flowing out of the country. Phone calls into Iran were not getting through.

The Times has reported that activists have used Elon Musk’s Starlink devices to post content online. It also said that some influencers have had their Instagram posts taken down “due to criminal activity”.

Iran’s judiciary has promised severe punishment for protesters as demonstrations entered their 14th day.

Judiciary head Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei was quoted by state media saying that the punishment of rioters would be “decisive, maximal, and without legal leniency”.

It comes as the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused demonstrators of being “terrorist agents” working for the US and Israel.

Several people officers have been killed overnight as protests in Iran have become deadly clashes, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

At least 38 demonstrators are reported to have died and at least 2,200 people arrested as they demand that the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei steps down.

Iranian state TV shows burning buildings and vehicles.

The European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy warned on Friday that violent crackdowns on Iran’s protesters are “unacceptable”.

“The Iranian people are fighting for their future. By ignoring their rightful demands, the regime shows its true colours,” Kaja Kallas wrote in a post on X/Twitter.

“Images from Tehran reveal a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces. Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.

“Shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people.”