Fresh overnight protests erupted across major Iranian cities as opposition voices urged a push to seize city centres, despite an ongoing internet shutdown and warnings of a harsh crackdown.
Iran witnessed a fresh wave of overnight protests across major cities from late Friday into Saturday, as demonstrators renewed calls against the Islamic republic amid a nationwide internet blackout and mounting
political tension. The unrest unfolded in Tehran and several provincial centres, two weeks into protests that have become one of the most serious challenges to the authorities since the 1979
Islamic revolution.
New rallies followed the largest demonstrations so far on Thursday, with images verified by the news agency and videos circulating on social media despite severe connectivity restrictions. Internet monitoring group Netblocks said early Saturday that “metrics show the nationwide internet blackout remains in place at 36 hours”.
In Tehran’s Saadatabad district, residents banged pots and chanted anti-government slogans, including “death to Khamenei”, as cars honked in support, according to AFP-verified footage. Similar scenes were reported in other parts of the capital.
Protests reported in multiple cities
Images shared on social media and by Persian-language television channels outside Iran showed large gatherings in Mashhad in the east, Tabriz in the north and the holy city of Qom. In the western city of Hamedan, footage showed a man waving a shah-era Iranian flag bearing the lion and sun amid fires and dancing crowds.
In the Pounak district of northern Iran, people were seen dancing around a fire in the middle of a highway. In Mashhad’s Vakilabad district, marchers moved down an avenue chanting “death to Khamenei” near one of Shiite Islam’s holiest shrines. Some of these videos could not be immediately verified.
Pahlavi urges targeted action
Reza Pahlavi, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah, described Friday’s turnout as “magnificent” and called on Iranians to stage more focused protests over the weekend.
“Our goal is no longer just to take to the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize and hold city centres,” Pahlavi said in a video message shared on social media.
Pahlavi, whose father Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was overthrown in 1979 and died in 1980, added that he was “preparing to return to my homeland” at a time he believed was “very near”.
Activists have warned that the internet shutdown could conceal a violent response by the authorities. Norway-based Iran Human Rights said at least 51 people have been killed so far in the crackdown.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi said on Friday that security forces could be preparing a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout”.
Leadership defiance and US reaction
Iranian authorities have said several members of the security forces have been killed. Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, speaking on Friday, condemned “vandals” and vowed that the Islamic republic would “not back down”. He blamed the US for fuelling the unrest, a charge echoed by other officials.
US President Donald Trump on Friday again declined to rule out new military action against Iran after Washington backed and joined Israel’s 12-day war against the Islamic republic in June.
“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.
Asked about his message to Iran’s leaders, he added: “You better not start shooting because we’ll start shooting too.”
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