Iran: Ayatollah warns regime 'won't back down' amid protests
· DWMass protests over the dire economic situation in Iran continue to grow across the country. Iranian authorities have imposed an internet blackout in a bid to quell the unrest. DW has more.
- Iran has been gripped by increasingly large protests for nearly two weeks
- The demonstrations began in Tehran in late December in protest at the severe economic crisis in the country
- They have since evolved into calls to overthrow the Islamic regime
- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei says the clerical regime won't back down
- Khamenei brands the protesters 'vandals' and 'saboteurs' who are trying to please US President Donald Trump
- Trump has repeatedly warned the US will strike Iran 'very hard' if protesters are killed
- At least 45 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with security forces since the unrest began, according to Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO
Below is a roundup of the latest developments on the protests in Iran on Friday, January 9, 2025: