Tehran, 9 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - Major street protests again erupted in Iran’s main cities of Tehran and Mashhad on Friday, amid reports of dozens of deaths during nearly two weeks of demonstrations against the country's leadership and its handling of the economic crisis.

Videos widely shared on social media showed crowds gathering in central areas, though the footage could not be independently verified and the exact scale of the protests was initially unclear.

A nationwide internet blackout has sharply limited the flow of information, leaving Iranians largely cut off from the outside world for more than 24 hours.

In one video released by activists, crowds can be seen in Tehran’s northwestern Saadat Abad district amid fires and chaotic scenes. A voice in the background says a mosque has been set ablaze, while protesters can be heard chanting “Death to the dictator.”

Students in Tehran reported a tense security presence. According to the student newsletter Amirkabir, special security forces armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles were stationed at roughly 10-metre intervals along a main road, raising fears of further escalation.

Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani described widespread unrest on Thursday night, saying more than 50 banks and several government buildings were set ablaze during rioting. “More than 30 mosques went up in flames,” he said in a video distributed by the state-linked Mehr News Agency.

More than 50 demonstrators said killed

According to activists, 51 demonstrators have been killed so far in the protests.

Hundreds more people are reported to have been injured in clashes with security forces, according to the Oslo-based organization Iran Human Rights.

The organization is also investigating reports of dozens of demonstrators being killed in the major cities of Tehran, Mashhad and Hamadan, which are not yet included in the current figures.

"The danger of an escalation of violence and mass killings of demonstrators after the internet shutdown is very serious," the organization's director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, warned.

Security personnel killed in Kermanshah

Ten members of a regional Iranian military unit were killed during clashes with protesters in the west of the country, the Norway-based Hengaw human rights organization reported on Friday.

Their deaths occurred in Kermanshah, a city with a large Kurdish population. Hengaw, which focuses on the Kurdish minority in Iran, said they were members of the Nabi-Akram unit, which supports the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

There was no immediate confirmation of the deaths from the Iranian government or military.

Iran asks residents to report 'terrorists'

Iran's intelligence agency has called on people to report rioters as well as "terrorists" linked to the US and Israel.

Residents are asked to report "destroyers and terrorists hired by the US and the Zionist regime," the agency said in a statement broadcast on state radio on Friday.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly blamed civil unrest on the United States and Israel, accusing its long-time enemies of wanting to force regime change.

Iran's supreme leader condemns protests

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei sharply condemned the nationwide anti-regime protests, denouncing "troublemakers" and people who are "harmful to the country" in a speech published on Friday.

"There are also people whose work is destruction," he said. They cause destruction "just to make the president of the United States happy," the head of state said, referring to Donald Trump.

The US president has threatened the Iranian leadership with intervention should demonstrators be killed.

Khamenei hinted at a harsh crackdown by the security forces. "The Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of several hundred thousand honourable people," the Iranian state broadcaster, which published Khamenei's speech on Telegram, quoted him as saying.

"The Islamic Republic will not yield to those who act destructively. It does not tolerate mercenary services for foreigners," he said.

The protests over the country's crippling economic conditions began on December 28 in Tehran and have since spiralled into the most significant challenge to the leadership in several years.

Judiciary vows 'maximum' punishment

The head of Iran's judiciary meanwhile threatened to impose severe punishment on protesters involved in the unrest.

"The punishment of rebellious and disruptive elements will be decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency," Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei was quoted as saying by Iran's state radio.

Iran is known for its heavy use of the death penalty, which was repeatedly carried out in previous waves of protests.

International condemnation

The leaders of Britain, Germany and France condemned the killing of protesters in Iran and urged Tehran to exercise restraint.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron said in a joint statement that they were "deeply concerned" by the violence and "strongly" condemned the deaths of protesters.

"The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow for the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal," the said.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the harsh crackdown "exposes a regime afraid of its own people."

"The Iranian people are fighting for their future. By ignoring their rightful demands, the regime shows its true colours," she wrote on X on Friday.

Photo: Screenshot