Iran says dozens of officers killed as protesters defy government crackdown 

Iran’s state media says dozens of security forces have been killed during protests in the sanctions-hit country against a severe economic crisis, as the parliament speaker warned the United States and Israel of retaliatory strikes if Washington attacks the Islamic Republic.

State television said on Sunday 30 members of the police and security forces were killed in Isfahan province, while the commander of the Law Enforcement Command Special Units said eight security forces were killed on January 8 and 9 during operations to quell riots in various cities. The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that 109 security personnel had been killed in the protests across the country.

The Iranian Red Crescent, meanwhile, said a member of its team died during an attack on one of its relief buildings in Gorgan, the capital of Golestan province.

The reported figures come as Iranian authorities step up efforts to quell the country’s largest protests in years, which have seen thousands of people take to the streets in anger over the soaring cost of living and inflation.

The Interior Ministry said the “riots” are gradually subsiding while the attorney general has warned that those involved in the unrest could face the death penalty.

Trump threats

Speaking in parliament on Sunday after threats of military strikes by US President Donald Trump, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned the US against “a miscalculation”.

“Let us be clear: in the case of an attack on ‍Iran, the occupied territories (Israel) as well as all US bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” said Qalibaf, a former commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said Qalibaf’s words are “a new level of escalation, at least rhetorically”.

Some lawmakers reportedly rushed the dais in the Iranian parliament, shouting: “Death to America!”

Asadi said the authorities are “trying to draw a line between protesters and what they call rioters, or what Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei came out to call saboteurs”.

“They are saying that they understand the situation and complexities related to the economic difficulties people are facing,” he said, adding that Qalibaf recognised the right of people to take part in protests in his remarks earlier in the day.

Trump said on Saturday the US is “ready to help” as protesters in Iran faced an intensifying crackdown by the authorities.

“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!” Trump said in a social post on Truth Social, without elaborating.

His comments come a day after he said that Iran was in “big trouble” and again warned that he could order  strikes.

“That doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard – where it hurts,” the US president said.

Meanwhile, a nationwide shutdown of the internet in Iran remains in place and has now lasted more than 60 hours, according to monitor Netblocks.

“The censorship measure presents a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of Iranians at a key moment for the country’s future,” it said on Sunday, adding that the blackout is “now past the 60-hour mark”.

Warning from army

Iran’s police chief, Ahmad-Reza Rada, was quoted as saying by the state media on Sunday that the level of confrontation with rioters has been stepped up.

The Iranian army said on Saturday that it would defend the country’s “national interests” as it accused Israel and “hostile terrorist groups” of seeking to “undermine the country’s public security” amid the rapidly growing protest movement.

“The Army, under the command of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, together with other armed forces, in addition to monitoring enemy movements in the region, will resolutely protect and safeguard national interests, the country’s strategic infrastructure, and public property,” it said.

The demonstrations since late December are the largest in Iran since a 2022-2023 protest movement spurred by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Human rights groups have urged restraint amid reports of protest-related casualties and mass arrests, with Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights saying at least 51 protesters, including nine children, have been killed by security forces, and hundreds more have been injured.