The US “stands ready to help” Iranian protesters, Donald Trump has said, as the number of people killed in demonstrations across Iran has risen to more than 100, activists have said.
As protests across Iran’s 31 provinces in the country enter their third week, officials have imposed a communications blackout, while state media is blaming the protests on “terrorist agents” from the US and Israel.
The number of those killed in the protests – arguably the biggest seen in the country since the 1979 revolution – has risen from 65 to 116, with 2,600 people detained, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
As it happened: Tehran blames US president for escalation
Saturday also saw US President Donald Trump say Washington “stands ready to help,” while Republican senator Lindsey Graham, a longtime critic of Iran’s regime, said the Iranian people’s “long nightmare is soon coming to a close”.
Pics: Reuters
The US president, who bombed Iran last summer, posted his support for the protesters on Truth Social.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” he said. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”
It’s unclear what kind of support Mr Trump is referring to, and it comes a day after he said the US would hit Tehran “very hard” if the government “start[s] killing people” at the White House.
UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz issued a joint statement on Friday calling on the Iranian authorities to show restraint.
Last night, UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper praised the “courage” of the protesters taking to the streets in the face of violent repression.
“These are fundamental rights: free speech; peaceful assembly; and the exercise of those rights should never come with the threat of violence or reprisals,” she said.
“That is why the UK, France and Germany made the statement we did, and we urge the Iranian authorities to listen.”
‘Enemies of god’ death threat warning
Earlier, Iran’s prosecutor-general Mohammad Movahedi Azad reiterated threats to protesters that they would face charges of moharebeh, and be tried as “enemies of god”.
Moharebeh is punishable by the death penalty.
The prosecutor-general added that the charge would apply to “rioters and terrorists” who damaged property and undermined security, and those who helped them.
Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi made the same threat to protesters on Friday, after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused protesters of acting on behalf of Mr Trump.
State news agency: 100 arrested in Baharestan
It comes as the semi-official news agency Tasnim reports that 100 people have been arrested in a county in Tehran Province.
The local governor told the agency, which is associated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, that the detainees allegedly “disrupted public order” and “used firearms and cold weapons against the people and security and law enforcement forces” in the county of Baharestan.
In the language of Iran’s supreme leader, the anti-government protesters are referred to as “vandals and rioters”.
Protests in Iran began on 28 December over a sharp slide in the value of the rial currency, and have since transformed into the most significant challenge to the regime for several years.
Protester climbs on London embassy balcony
Meanwhile, protests in support of Iranian demonstrators have been held outside the country’s embassy in London, as well as across Europe.
Social media footage showed that a protester had climbed onto the balcony and removed an Iranian flag, replacing it with the former imperial flag.
The Metropolitan Police said it was aware of the incident and added: “Officers are on site and additional officers are being deployed to prevent any disorder.”
It added before 5.30pm that it had arrested two people: One for aggravated trespass and assault on an emergency worker, and one for aggravated trespass.
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The force said it was seeking a third person on suspicion of trespass, but that it saw “no serious disorder”.
The pre-Islamic revolution lion and sun flag is often used by opposition groups in Iran, and was seen in footage of demonstrations in London.
