DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that sustaining safety was a “pink line that shouldn’t be crossed” and the navy vowed to guard public property because the clergy stepped up efforts to quell the biggest protests in years.
The assertion got here after US President Donald Trump issued a brand new warning to Iranian leaders on Friday and Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared on Saturday that “the United States stands with the courageous folks of Iran.”
Rubio expresses US help for Iranian folks amid anti-regime protests
The mayhem continued all through the night time. State media stated a city corridor in Karaj, west of Tehran, was set on fireplace, blaming “riots.” State tv broadcast footage of funerals for members of the safety forces killed in protests within the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
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A witness from western Iran stated by telephone that the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was deployed and firing within the space the place he was talking, however declined to establish himself for security causes.
In an announcement broadcast by state tv, the Revolutionary Guards, the elite power that has quelled earlier uprisings, accused terrorists of concentrating on navy and legislation enforcement bases over the previous two nights, killing a number of civilians and safety personnel, and setting fireplace to property.
He additional acknowledged that defending the achievements of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and sustaining safety are “pink strains that should not be crossed” and that the continuation of the state of affairs is unacceptable.
The military, which operates individually from the Revolutionary Guards but additionally commanded by Khamenei, stated it might “defend and defend nationwide pursuits, the nation’s strategic infrastructure and public property.”
In a rustic with a historical past of fragmented opposition to clerical rule, the son of Iran’s final shah, overthrown within the 1979 Islamic revolution, has emerged as a distinguished voice selling protests overseas.
Iran shuts off nationwide web as folks throughout the nation voice help for Shah
Prime Minister Pahlavi says aim is to organize for ‘occupation of city centres’
“Our aim is not merely to take to the streets, however to occupy the middle of town and put together to carry it,” US-based Reza Pahlavi stated in his newest enchantment on the X social media platform.
He additionally known as on “employees and staff in key sectors of the financial system, particularly transport, oil, gasoline and power,” to launch a nationwide strike.
President Trump stated Thursday he had no intention of assembly with Pahlavi, indicating he was ready to see how the disaster performs out earlier than backing the opposition chief.
Trump, who bombed Iran final summer time and warned Tehran final week that the U.S. would possibly help protesters, warned once more on Friday: “You higher not begin capturing. We’ll begin capturing too.”
“I simply hope the protesters in Iran are protected, as a result of Iran is a really harmful place proper now,” he added.
While some demonstrators within the streets have shouted slogans supporting Mr. Pahlavi, corresponding to “Long dwell the Shah,” most chants are calling for an finish to clerical rule or motion to rebuild an financial system battered by years of U.S. and different worldwide sanctions and the 12-day conflict in June, when Israel and the U.S. launched airstrikes towards Iran.
A health care provider in northwestern Iran stated numerous injured protesters had been taken to hospitals since Friday. Some have been badly crushed, struggling head accidents, damaged legs and arms, and deep cuts.
At least 20 folks have been shot with dwell ammunition at one hospital, 5 of whom later died.
On Friday, Khamenei accused demonstrators of performing on behalf of President Trump, stated mobs have been attacking public amenities, and warned that the Iranian authorities wouldn’t tolerate folks performing as “mercenaries for foreigners.”
Three members of the Basij safety forces have been killed and 5 others injured in clashes with what it described as “armed insurgents” within the southwestern metropolis of Gaksalan, the Revolutionary Guard’s press workplace stated.
Another safety official was stabbed to demise in Hamedan, western Iran. Martyr Brigadier General Nourali Shushtari, the son of a senior officer, was killed within the Ahmedabad district of northeastern Mashhad province. Two different safety personnel have been killed previously two nights in Shushtar, Khuzestan province.
The protests characterize the largest home problem for Iran’s clerical rulers in at the very least three years, and so they seem extra weak than throughout previous uprisings amid dire financial situations and after final yr’s conflict.
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Iran’s clergy has survived repeated upheavals previously, together with scholar protests in 1999, election disputes in 2009, protests over financial hardship in 2019, and protests for ladies, lives and freedom in 2022.
Iranian human rights group HRANA stated it had recorded 65 deaths as of January 9, together with 50 protesters and 15 safety personnel. Norway-based human rights group Hengau stated greater than 2,500 folks had been arrested previously two weeks.