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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei indicated that security forces would crack down on protesters after marching through the streets overnight as demonstrations continue in the country.
Overnight, Iran was plunged into a nationwide internet blackout as anti-regime protests intensified. The blackout has severely restricted communications across the country and the death toll has reportedly reached 44 as the protests enter their second week. Live network data from NetBlocks showed that internet traffic collapsed in the restive nation on Thursday evening, soon after a call for mass protests was broadcast at 8 pm local time.
Khamenei’s warning about security forces comes just days after President Donald Trump vowed the US would intervene if peaceful Iranian protesters faced violence at the hands of the regime.
“If Iran shoots and violently executes peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States will come to their defense. We are off and ready to go,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on January 2.
Activists say Iran protesters emboldened by Trump administration’s Persian message after Obama-Biden inaction
Hundreds of Iranian citizens are reportedly set to be deported under a deal between Iran and the US (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images; Allison Robert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Trump reiterated the statement during an interview with Hugh Hewitt on Thursday, saying that if regime forces killed protesters, “they would be dealt a very serious blow.” The comment was posted on the State Department’s Persian feed.
The Iranian leader rejected Trump’s statements, saying that the US President’s hands were “stained with the blood of Iranians” as supporters chanted “Down with America”. In footage broadcast on Iranian state TV, according to the Associated Press.
Iranians gather blocking a road during a protest in Kermanshah, Iran on January 8, 2026. (Kamran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
Iran regime cuts internet access nationwide as protests in major cities leave 44 dead
Referring to Trump, Khamenei said Iranian protesters were “destroying their own streets to please the president of another country.”
According to the AP, short videos purportedly showing protests against the regime were circulated even before the blackout shut down internet and international calls in the country. The outlet noted that video showed protesters chanting slogans against the Iranian regime around a bonfire as debris littered the streets in Tehran and other areas of the country. Iranian state media claimed that “terrorist agents” of the US and Israel started the fire and incited violence, the AP reported.
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled Iran just before the 1979 Islamic Revolution, called for protests Thursday night. Pahlavi said on Twitter that he was proud of all those who demonstrated against the regime on Thursday night.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is pictured sitting next to a senior military officer in Iran. (Getty Images)
“I am proud of each of you who occupied the streets across Iran on Thursday night… You saw how massive crowds forced the repressive forces to retreat,” Pahlavi said. “For those of you who were hesitant, join your fellow compatriots on Friday night.”
Pahlavi encouraged the protests on Friday to be even bigger than those the night before, saying it would further weaken the Islamic Republic’s rule. He also expressed confidence that those on the streets would not give up in the face of an internet blackout, assuring protesters that victory was theirs.
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Fox News Digital contacted the White House for comment.
The Associated Press and Emma Bassey of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
