Translated with AI
Mass protests erupted in Iran again on the evening of January 9, despite harsh security measures and an internet blackout. Thousands of people took to the streets of Tehran and other major cities, demanding changes in government policy and expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
According to human rights activists, the death toll currently stands at at least 62, including 48 protesters and 14 security forces. More than 2,300 protesters have been detained, and hospitals in Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj are overflowing with the wounded, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
Video footage, authenticated by AFP, shows demonstrators in the Saadatabad district in the north of the capital banging pots and chanting slogans such as "Death to Khamenei." Passing cars honked in support of the protesters.
In response to mass street protests, authorities have tightened security on Tehran's main thoroughfares. On one main thoroughfare, checkpoints have been set up every 10 meters, manned by special forces armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, according to the student newsletter Amirkabir.
Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani reported significant property damage caused during the protests on the night of January 9. He said more than 50 banks and several government buildings were set on fire in the capital, and more than 30 mosques were destroyed.
Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sharply condemned the protesters' actions, calling them "instigators" and people who "harm the country." "There are those whose job is destruction. They commit destruction only to make the US president happy," Khamenei said, referring to Donald Trump.
Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeed Iravani, also accused the United States and Israel of destabilizing actions and turning peaceful protests into violent acts of vandalism, Reuters reports.
Protests in Iran began in response to public discontent with a number of domestic and foreign policy decisions by the authorities and have been accompanied by active resistance from security forces, leading to an escalation of violence and a rise in the number of casualties.
