Iran protests highlights: Internet shut amid protests, Reza Pahlavi's ‘urgent message’ for Trump

Iran protests live updates: "Iran's in big trouble. It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago," Trump said.

"You better not start shooting because we'll start shooting too. If they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved," Trump said.

"That doesn't mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts."

Iran protests live updates: "We are deeply concerned about reports of violence by Iranian security forces, and strongly condemn the killing of protestors," French President Emmanuel Macron, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a joint statement.

"We urge the Iranian authorities to exercise restraint," they added.

Iran protests live updates: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic Republic would not tolerate “vandalism” or “people acting as mercenaries for foreign powers,” according to state-run Press TV.

Later, a Tehran prosecutor warned that rioters who damage public property would face the death penalty.

Iran protests live updates: Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi warns of potential Iran “massacre” amid internet shutdown

Iran protests live updates: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned the US President on Friday and said, “As for that fellow (Trump) who sits there with arrogance and pride, passing judgment on the whole world, he should also know that usually, the despots and arrogant powers of the world--such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Reza Khan, Mohammad Reza, and the likes of them--were overthrown exactly when they were at the peak of their pride. This one will be overthrown as well,” reported news agency ANI.

Accusing the protestors of trying to please Trump, Khamenei said, “They want to make him happy. If he knew how to run a country, he would run his own."

Iran protests live updates: "It has now been 24 hours since Iran implemented a nationwide internet shutdown, with connectivity flatlining at 1% of ordinary levels," internet freedom monitor Netblocks said on Friday.

Iran protests live updates: The exiled son of Iran's late shah appealed to US President Donald Trump to intervene urgently as protesters gathered in the Islamic republic. "Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support and action," Reza Pahlavi said in a social media post. "Please be prepared to intervene to help the people of Iran."

Iran protests live updates: A US-based human rights group has said that the death toll in nationwide protests in Iran has jumped to at least 62. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said there have been at least 2,300 arrests during the protests, AP reported. The figures of the rightw body have been accurate in previous round of violence in demonstrations in Iran.

Iran protests live updates: The Ministry of External Affairs on Friday said India is closely following the developments in Iran amid a wave of protests in the country. Earlier on January 5, New Delhi had urged Indian nationals to avoid non-essential travel to Iran and also advised Indian citizens in Iran to exercise due caution and avoid travelling to areas witnessing protests or demonstrations.

Iran protests live updates: Reza Pahlavi has lived in exile for nearly 50 years. His father — Iran’s shah — was so widely hated that millions took the streets against him in 1979, forcing him from power. Nevertheless, the Iranian Crown Prince is trying to position himself as a player in his country’s future. Pahlavi successfully spurred protesters onto the streets Thursday night in a massive escalation of the protests sweeping Iran. Initially sparked by the Islamic Republic’s ailing economy, the demonstrations have become a serious challenge to its theocracy.

X is changing its Iran flag emoji to the historical lion and sun symbol, its head of product, Nikita Bier, said on Friday, adding that the update would likely go live on the web version soon.

“Give me a few hours,” Bier wrote in response to a user who had asked Elon Musk and Bier to “update the 🇮🇷 emoji.”

He later posted: “In progress,” sharing a link to the update, and added: “Should be live sometime tomorrow on web.”

The current emoji reflects the flag of the Islamic Republic, which features a red emblem introduced after the 1979 revolution. The lion and sun motif was used on Iran’s flag for centuries before being removed following the revolution, and is now widely associated with Iran’s pre-revolutionary era.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards intelligence organisation issued a warning to protesters on Friday, saying the continuation of the current situation was “unacceptable.”

“We warn that the continuation of this situation is unacceptable,” it said in a statement, adding that the blood of those killed in what it described as recent “terrorist incidents” was on the hands of their planners.

The statement added that the organisation vows to protect what it described as the achievements of the Islamic Republic and public security as a “red line.”

The Iranian prosecutor has said that the protestors who burn public property or clash with the security forces will face a death sentence, Reuters reported, citing state media.

Iran protests live updates: Tehran is on edge on Friday as the time for exiled Prince Reza Shah Pahlevi's call to stir approaches. He had called people to protest at 8 PM on Friday (Tehran Time).

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Friday that Iran’s leadership was showing its “true colours” by ignoring protesters’ demands and using what she called excessive force.

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

She said images from Tehran showed “a disproportionate and heavy-handed response by the security forces,” adding: “Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable.”

Kallas also criticised the internet shutdown. “Shutting down the internet while violently suppressing protests exposes a regime afraid of its own people,” she said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Friday accused the United States and Israel of being involved in the protests in Iran, denied reports that his family had fled the country and said foreign military intervention was unlikely.

“The US and Israel have announced that they are involved in these demonstrations,” Araghchi said in Beirut, according to Iran International, pointing to a social media post by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in which he wrote: “Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also, to every Mossad agent walking beside them.”

Araghchi rejected rumours that his family had left Iran. “My family has not gone anywhere. They are in Tehran,” he said.

He said foreign military intervention during the protests was unlikely. “The possibility of military intervention in Iran at the same time as these protests is unlikely,” he said.

Araghchi also said Oman’s foreign minister was due to visit Tehran on Saturday, but added: “We do not know whether he is carrying a message.”

Iran's foreign minister has played down the possibility of a foreign intervention like Venezuela in the country, terming it “very low”.

Iran’s top Sunni cleric, Molavi Abdolhamid, said on Friday that many Iranians were struggling to afford food and backed the nationwide protests.

“A large number of people in Iran are in need of bread. Many people barely eat one meal a day,” Iran International quoted Abdolhamid as saying.

Abdolhamid accused officials of looting national resources.

“They have plundered many of the country’s national resources,” he said.

Abdolhamid said protests in recent years had come at a high cost.

“In past years, people have protested many times and have given their lives,” he said.

Warning of worsening conditions, he added: “We have reached a point where cemeteries could be created because of hunger.”

He said people from all backgrounds had joined the protests. “Last night, everyone saw that Iranians from all walks of life came out,” he said, adding that people had risen up “for their dignity and honour.”

The United States is closely monitoring protests in Iran for signs they could threaten the stability of the ruling system, Axios reported, quoting US officials.

Early this week, US intelligence assessed that the protests lacked enough momentum to challenge the regime, but that view is now being reassessed, according to the report.

“The protests are serious, and we will continue to monitor them,” a senior US official was quoted as saying.

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said punishment for protestors would be “decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency”, AP reported.

Iran protests live updates: The European Union on Friday called on Iran's government to restore internet access in the country. “The people of Iran are expressing their legitimate aspiration for a better life. Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said, according to AFP.

Iran protests live updates: An Iranian prosecutor and several security personnel were allegedly killed during protests in the city of Esfarayen in North Khorasan, the head of the province's judiciary said, according to an Iran International report.

“Last night, during the unrest in Esfarayen, Ali Akbar Hosseinzadeh, the public and revolutionary prosecutor, was present in the city to carry out field supervision alongside police and security forces,” the official said.

In Iran's Khorasan Razavi province, protestors attacked the Chenaran city police station, leading to the deaths of five, according to Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the Razavi Khorasan Governor’s Office. Further, buses were set on fire Mashhad amid unrest, WANA reported.

Several flights from Dubai to Iran for Friday have been cancelled, amid unrest in the country, Iran International reported. These included flights to Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad, among other cities, according to the Dubai airport website.

Earlier, Turkish airlines has cancelled five Friday flights to Iran's capital Tehran, according to the Istanbul Airport app. A flight from Turkish Airlines to Shiraz, and another Pegasus flight to Mashad turned back from the Iranian air space on Thursday night, AFP reported citing Flight Radar website.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would not “back down” in the face of protestors, who he referred to as “vandals” and “saboteurs”. He further targeted US President Donald Trump, alleging he would be “overthrown” like the imperial dynasty that ruled Iran up to the 1979 revolution, AFP reported.