Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei vowed not to yield after US President Donald Trump threatened to come to the aid of protesters, as rights groups reported a sharp rise in arrests following days of unrest sparked by soaring inflation.
Speaking in a recorded appearance on television on Saturday, Khamenei said the Islamic Republic "will not yield to the enemy" and said rioters should be "put in their place".
ECONOMIC CRISIS
Authorities have attempted to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while meeting some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
"The bazaaris were right. They are right to say they cannot do business in these conditions," said Khamenei, referring to market traders' concerns over the currency slide.
"We will speak with the protesters but talking to rioters is useless. Rioters should be put in their place," he added.
The weeklong protests, have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the protests have yet to be as widespread and intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.
Reports of violence have centered on small cities in Iran's western provinces, where several people have been killed. Authorities have said two members of the security services had died and more than a dozen were injured in the unrest.
Rights groups say more than 10 people have been killed so far.
Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group, said late on Friday that it had identified 133 people arrested, an increase of 77 from the previous day.
The deaths overnight into Saturday involved a new level of violence. In Qom, a grenade exploded, killing a man there, the state-owned IRAN newspaper reported.
Online videos from Qom purportedly showed fires in the street overnight.
The second death happened in the town of Harsin, some 370 kilometers (230 miles) southwest of Tehran. There, the newspaper said a member of the Basij, the all-volunteer arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, died in a gun and knife attack in the town in Kermanshah province.
Demonstrations have reached over 100 locations in 22 of Iran’s 31 provinces, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported.
