Overview
- State-linked outlets reported at least six deaths in clashes in cities such as Azna and Lordegan, while the rights group Hrana said seven were killed, 33 injured and 119 detained.
- Authorities confirmed a 21-year-old Basij volunteer was killed in Kuhdasht and cited arrests and weapons seizures as security forces moved to contain the unrest.
- Demonstrations that began with bazaar closures in Tehran spread across multiple provinces as the rial slid to roughly 1.4 million per U.S. dollar and annual price increases topped 50% in December.
- President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged protesters’ demands as legitimate, even as prosecutors and security officials vowed a firm response to what they describe as destabilizing acts.
- President Donald Trump posted that the United States is prepared to act if Iranian forces kill peaceful demonstrators, drawing immediate warnings from senior Iranian advisers against foreign interference.