Iran warns protesters of maximum punishment as death toll...

What’s Happening

Alright so As Irans exiled crown prince predicts his imminent return, the Islamic Republic shirks Trumps warnings and threatens protesters with maximum punishment.

World Iran protests rage for another night and deaths mount as Trump renews warning of possible U. Intervention : / 7:13 AM EST / CBS/AP Add CBS News on Google Protests in Iran raged Friday night in the Islamic Republic, online videos purported to show, despite threats from the country’s theocracy to crack down on demonstrators after shutting down the the internet and cutting telephone lines off to the world. (yes, really)

The protesters appeared to be taking encouragement from repeated declarations of support administration, and ‘s exiled crown prince, who called on them Saturday to try and overwhelm security forces and seize towns and cities.

The Details

An external rights group that relies on information from contacts inside Iran says at least 65 people have been killed in the protests, which began in Tehran in late December as anger over Iran’s ailing economy, but quickly spread and morphed into the most significant challenge to the government in years. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused President Trump of having hands “stained with the blood of Iranians” in remarks aired Friday on Iranian state TV, as stans gathered before him shouted “Death to America!

” Protesters are “ruining their own streets … To please the president of the United States,” the 86-year-old Khamenei dropped to the crowd at his compound in Tehran.

Why This Matters

“Because he dropped that he would come to their aid. He should pay attention to the state of his own country instead. ” Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei comments on nationwide protests, on Iranian State Television in the capital Tehran, Jan.

Diplomats and experts are analyzing what this means for international relations.

The Bottom Line

9, 2026 IRIB/Handout/Anadolu/Getty State media later called the demonstrators “terrorists,” setting the stage for a possible violent crackdown how Iran has responded to other major protests in recent years, despite Mr. Trump’s pledge to back peaceful protesters, with force if necessary.

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