0
• Over 500, including scores of security personnel, killed, US-based rights group claims
• Pezeshkian says ‘trained rioters, terrorists’ brought into Iran by foes to fan riots, pledges to address grievances
• Rubio, Netanyahu discuss possibility of intervention
• Speaker warns US against any miscalculation
DUBAI: As it struggled to contain massive protests across the country, the Iranian government on Sunday warned the US of retaliation against its military bases and Israel if the Trump administration attacked the country over a crackdown on protesters.
Large crowds have gathered across the country in recent days, chanting anti-government slogans despite an internet blackout that rights groups have warned is being used to obscure a deadly crackdown by security forces.
According to a US-based rights group, the death toll has reached 500 due to violence that has engulfed major cities, including Tehran. HRANA, in its latest spreadsheet, based on activists inside and outside Iran, said it had verified the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 security personnel, with more than 10,600 people arrested. Reuters was unable to independently verify the toll.
The enemies of the Iranian people have trained a group of people both inside and outside the country to destroy public and private properties and kill citizens, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said. “The enemy has infiltrated trained terrorists into the country. Rioters and saboteurs are not the protesting people. We listen to the protesters and have made our utmost efforts to solve their problems,” Mr Pezeshkian said.
Against this violent backdrop, the US offered to “help” the Iranian people and the Trump administration also reportedly discussed the possibility of strikes targeting Iran. With the Islamic Republic’s clerical establishment facing the biggest demonstrations since 2022, Mr Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran if force is used on protesters. Posting on social media on Saturday, he said: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” In a phone call on Saturday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to Reuters.
Addressing parliament on Sunday, Iran’s speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned the US against any miscalculation.If the US attacked, “both the occupied territory and centres of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets”, he told lawmakers.
‘Rioters are trained’
In his address, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also blamed the US and Israel for violence, saying that they had “trained” and “brought terrorists” into Iran from abroad.
“The US and Israel are telling… ‘we are behind you’. The same people who killed children and infants in our country are telling these rioters to go and destroy and burn,” he said, referring to the June military aggression against Iran.
Mr Pezeshkian told the youth “not to be deceived by these rioters and terrorists” as he pleaded with Iranian families not to let their children join the “rioters and terrorists”.
Meanwhile, the US-based son of Iran’s ousted shah said he was prepared to return to the country and lead a transition to a democratic government. “I’m prepared to return to Iran at the first possible opportunity. I’m already planning on that,” Reza Pahlavi said on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures” with Maria Bartiromo.
He added: “My job is to lead this transition to make sure that no stone is left unturned, that in full transparency, people have an opportunity to elect their leaders freely and to decide their own future.”
‘State of near paralysis’
Video verified by AFP showed large crowds taking to the streets in new protests on Saturday night in several Iranian cities, including Tehran and Mashhad in the east, where images showed vehicles set on fire.
Footage posted on social media from Tehran showed large crowds marching along a street at night,
clapping and chanting. The crowd “has no end nor beginning,” a man is heard saying. In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city in a state of near paralysis.
The price of meat has nearly doubled since the start of the protests, and while some shops are open, many others are not. Those that do open must close at around 4pm or 5pm.
Turkiye bars protest
Turkiye, meanwhile, prevented Iranian nationals from protesting outside Iran’s consulate in Istanbul, with the area cordoned off and crowds blocked by police. Turkey hosts more than 74,000 Iranians with residence permits and around 5,000 refugees.
Demonstrators gathered under steady rain in Istanbul, where Nina, a young Iranian exile, said she wanted to show solidarity with the protesters.
“It’s been 72 hours since we had any news from the country, from our families. No internet or television, we can’t reach Iran anymore,” she said, the Iranian flag and red tears painted across her face.
“The regime kills at random — whether families are on foot or in a car, whether there are children. It spares no one,” she added.
Published in Dawn, January 12th, 2026
