On 10th January, the authorities of Iran implied that they may cut back their crackdown on the largest anti-government protests in decades, where the Revolutionary Guards attribute the instability to terrorists, and threaten to step in to protect the governing order.

Trump, the U.S. President who has threatened to intervene in recent days, wrote on social media on Saturday: “IRAN is seeking FREEDOM, maybe never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”

Several reports of violence emerged all over Iran, but the internet blackout made it hard to determine the exact scope of violence.

On Saturday, as it became dark, new videos on the internet claimed to depict new protests in several neighbourhoods in the capital Tehran, several cities, such as Rasht in the north, Tabriz in the northwest, and Shiraz and Kerman in the south. 

The son of the former Iranian shah, who is now in exile and has become a major voice within the already divided opposition, has given his most serious appeal yet that the protests extend into a revolution to overthrow the clerical leadership.

State media reported that a municipal building in the west of Tehran, at Karaj, was burned down and accused the rioters. State television showed pictures of funerals of people in the security forces, who it claimed had been killed during protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom, and Hamedan.

Video clips uploaded on Friday on social networks showed masses of people in Tehran and fires burning in the street. In a video that was confirmed by Reuters, in which a crowd protested at night in the Saadatabad area in Tehran, the voice of a man is heard saying that people had taken control of the place.

“The crowd is coming. Death to the dictator, Death to Khamenei,” he said.

Demonstrations have rocked Iran since December 28, starting with protests over skyrocketing inflation, but quickly escalating to a political level as protesters clamored to see an end to clerical authority. Governments blame the U.S and Israel for fomenting unrest.

One of the senior intelligence officials of the United States termed the situation as “an endurance game.” The protesters were attempting to maintain the pressure until some of the most influential governmental entities either escape or change alliances, whereas the government was attempting to “create sufficient fear” to attract the streets without providing the United States with a reason to intervene, the official said.

According to the Iranian rights lobby group HRANA, no less than 50 demonstrators and 15 security agents have been killed, and 2,300 have been imprisoned.

The Army says terrorist groups are out to sabotage security.

An eyewitness of the Revolution, who had made a telephone call to western Iran, reported that the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) were in the neighborhood and had opened fire on the locality where the witness was addressing, but he refused to identify himself as he feared being killed.

The semi-official Tasnim news agency announced the arrest of 100 armed rioters in the town of Baharestan, close to Tehran.

State TV in a statement accused the IRGC of targeting military and law enforcement bases in the last two nights, accusing it of a terrorist attack by a group it claims are terrorists. It reported that a number of citizens and security personnel were murdered, and people’s property was burned both publicly and privately.

It added that protecting the gains of the Islamic revolution and continuing to ensure security was a red line.

The regular armed forces also made a declaration that it would defend and protect national interests, the strategic infrastructure of the country, and the property of the people.

In a video posted on X, U.S.-based standard bearer of Reza Pahlavi, 65, whose father was dethroned as the shah in the 1979 revolution, said the Islamic Republic would be rolled to its knees. He urged the population to occupy the headquarters of their cities, and promised that he would come back to Iran soon.

It is not to enter the streets anymore, said the goal is to be ready to conquer the centres of cities and occupy them, he said.

In northwestern Iran, a physician reported, “since Friday, injured protesters have been taken to hospitals in large quantities. Others were severely beaten, with broken legs and arms, head wounds, and badly cut.”

In one hospital, there were at least 20 people who were shot with live ammunition, of whom five died.

On Thursday, Trump said he was not eager to meet with Pahlavi, an indication that he was not committed to supporting an opposition leader until the crisis is resolved.

The rulers of Iran have endured a series of unrest, including protests among the students in 1999, an objectionable election in 2009, economic struggles in 2019, and in 2022 following the death in custody of a woman who flouted the dress codes.

Trump, who visited Israel last summer to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, has put Iran among the list of countries where he could interfere, as he sent troops to occupy the president of Venezuela a week ago. On Friday, he threatened the Iranian leaders by saying: You better not start shooting, we will start shooting as well.

The protesters in the streets have shouted slogans supporting Pahlavi, like “long live the shah”, whilst most of the slogans have demanded a stop to the rule of the clerics or demanded action to rectify the economy.

On Friday, Khamenei charged the protesters with being Trump puppets, stating that the rioters were destroying public properties and threatening that Tehran would not allow individuals to become mercenaries of foreigners.

Reporting by Dubai Newsroom. Video checking of Eleanor Whalley and Mahezabin Syed. Tom Perry Writes with Mark Potter, Peter Graff, and Diane Craft, editing.