DUBAI: Iran's authorities indicated on Saturday (Jan
10) they could intensify their crackdown on the biggest anti-government
demonstrations in years, with the Revolutionary Guards blaming unrest on
terrorists and vowing to safeguard the governing system.
US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly threatened to
intervene in recent days, posted on social media on Saturday: "Iran is
looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to
help!!!"
There were fresh reports of violence across Iran, although
an internet blackout made it difficult to assess the full extent of
unrest.
After nightfall on Saturday, new videos posted online purported to show fresh protests in a number of neighbourhoods in the capital Tehran and several cities, including Rasht in the north, Tabriz in the northwest and Shiraz and Kerman in the south. Reuters could not immediately verify the latest videos The exiled son of Iran's last shah, who has emerged as a prominent voice in the fragmented opposition, made his strongest call yet for the protests to broaden into a revolt to topple the clerical rulers.
State media said a municipal building was set on fire in
Karaj, west of Tehran, and blamed "rioters". State TV broadcast
footage of funerals of members of the security forces it said were killed in
protests in the cities of Shiraz, Qom and Hamedan.
Footage posted on Friday on social media showed large
crowds gathered in Tehran and fires lit in the street. In one video verified by
Reuters showing a nighttime protest in Tehran's Saadatabad district, a man is
heard saying the crowd had taken over the area.
"The crowd is coming. 'Death to the dictator', 'Death
to Khamenei'," he said, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei.
Protests have spread across Iran since Dec 28, beginning
in response to soaring inflation, and quickly turning political with
protesters demanding an end to clerical rule. Authorities accuse the US and
Israel of fomenting unrest.
A senior US intelligence official described the situation as an "endurance game". The opposition was trying to keep up pressure until key government figures either flee or switch sides, while the authorities were trying to sow enough fear to clear the streets without giving the United States justification to intervene, the official said.
Iranian rights group HRANA says at least 50 protesters and
15 security personnel have been killed, and some 2,300 arrested.
