Mowahedi-Azad: protesters will be considered “enemies of God”, which could result in the death penalty
2026-01-10 15:06, updated 2026-01-10 19:39
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2026-01-10 15:06
update
2026-01-10 19:39
All those who take part in the protests will be considered “enemies of God”, which will result in the death penalty, announced Iranian Prosecutor General Mohammad Mowahedi-Azad, quoted by the Associated Press on Saturday.
The prosecutor commented on the ongoing protests in the country on Iranian state television. Previously, the most important Iranian officials, including Iran's supreme spiritual and political leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had signaled that Tehran intended to intensify repression against protesters, AP recalled.
Khamenei has put the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on a higher state of alert than during the war with Israel last year, Iranian officials told the British daily Telegraph.
Earlier on Saturday, Iran's army and the Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that they would defend the revolution's achievements and the country's interests. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps stressed that preserving the achievements of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and ensuring security are “red lines” and that the continuation of the current situation is unacceptable. In turn, the Iranian armed forces announced that they would “protect and secure national interests, the country's strategic infrastructure and public property.”
Both declarations were published shortly after Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, called on protesters to take over major cities and for workers in the transport and energy sectors to launch a nationwide strike.
Anti-government protests, which began two weeks ago, are intensifying in Iran. Their initial cause was the economic crisis, but they are increasingly becoming a rebellion against the theocratic Islamic regime. At least 65 people died, but the exact number is difficult to determine because the authorities cut off access to the Internet.
Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday that in Baharestan County, Tehran Province, authorities arrested one hundred armed people who, it said, “disturbed public order” and “used firearms and cold weapons against the population and security forces and law enforcement agencies.” (PAP)
The head of the European Commission: Europe fully supports the demonstrations in Iran
The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, wrote on Saturday on the X platform that Europe fully supports the Iranian demonstrations and called on the Iranian authorities to immediately release all imprisoned demonstrators.
Von der Leyen stressed that the EU strongly condemns the brutal suppression of demonstrations. “Those responsible for these actions will be remembered as those who were on the wrong side of history,” she wrote.
She added that the EU calls for the release of people arrested during the protests, as well as for the restoration of full access to the Internet in the country and respect for fundamental rights by the Iranian authorities. “The streets of Tehran and cities around the world resound with the footsteps of Iranian women and men demanding freedom. Freedom of speech, assembly, travel and, above all, freedom of life. Europe fully supports them,” the politician assured.
Anti-government demonstrations have been taking place across Iran for several days. The protests began with a strike related to the sharp decline in the value of the national currency and the difficult economic situation, but quickly became political. There were slogans against the government and the power of the ayatollahs. Within a dozen or so days, the demonstrations covered – according to the opposition website Iran International – more than 200 cities.
According to non-governmental organizations, the police are using guns and tear gas to disperse the demonstrators. The AP agency, citing local activists, reported on Friday that at least 62 people were killed in the protests and over 2,270 were detained.
From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik Pargana (PAP)
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