Iran threatens death penalty for protesters as nationwide unrest enters second week
Iran's government has escalated its crackdown on nationwide protests, with its attorney general warning that demonstrators and even those who assist them could face charges punishable by death. The warning comes as protests spread across major cities despite an internet blackout. Human rights groups report dozens killed and thousands detained amid an intensifying security response.
New Delhi: Iran has sharply intensified its response to ongoing nationwide protests, warning that anyone participating in demonstrations, or even assisting protesters, could be prosecuted as an "enemy of God”, a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law.
The warning was issued by Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi Azad and broadcast on state television on Saturday, as protests entered their second week and continued to spread across major cities despite a sweeping internet shutdown imposed by authorities. A statement aired on Iranian state TV said that even individuals who had "helped rioters” would be liable to face the charge.
What Iranian law provides
Under Iran’s penal code, Article 186 allows authorities to label members or supporters of groups deemed to be engaged in armed opposition to the Islamic Republic as mohareb, or "enemies of God”, even if they have not directly taken part in violence. According to Human Rights Watch, individuals who knowingly assist such groups can be prosecuted under this provision.
Article 190 outlines four possible punishments for moharebeh or "corruption on earth”: execution, hanging, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or permanent internal exile. Article 191 grants judges broad discretion to choose which punishment to impose.
Protests spread despite crackdown
Fresh demonstrations erupted on Friday in Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz and the holy city of Qom. Footage verified by AFP showed crowds chanting slogans against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In Tehran’s Sa’adat Abad neighbourhood, residents banged pots and honked car horns in open defiance, challenging official claims that calm had been restored.
The unrest, described as the largest since the 2022–23 protests triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini in custody, began on December 28 over rising living costs and the sharp fall of the rial. The demonstrations have since evolved into broader challenges to Iran’s clerical establishment.
Rising death toll and international reactions
Human rights organisations say the crackdown has turned deadly. Iran Human Rights, based in Norway, reported at least 51 protesters killed, including nine children, while the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll at 65, with more than 2,300 people detained. Amnesty International said the internet blackout was meant to "mask regime violence” and conceal serious human rights abuses.
Supreme Leader Khamenei, speaking for the first time since the protests began, dismissed demonstrators as "vandals” and "saboteurs” and accused the United States of orchestrating the unrest. He said US President Donald Trump’s hands were "stained with Iranian blood” and insisted the Islamic Republic would not retreat.
Trump warned Tehran against killing peaceful protesters, saying the leadership appeared to be "in big trouble”, while US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington stood with the "brave people of Iran”. Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, meanwhile, warned that punishments would be "maximum”, and the Revolutionary Guards declared that defending the Islamic Republic was a "red line”.