At least 10 killed as Iran unrest spread nationwide

Deadly protests against the Ayatollah regime in Iran have entered their sixth day on Friday and protests have spread nationwide,The unrest, which began Monday with market closures in Tehran, has spread across 113 locations in 46 cities and 22 provinces. As students joined, the protests shifted from purely economic grievances to political demands, with slogans such as “Death to the dictator.” Several of the country’s most prestigious universities in Tehran and Isfahan have been closed. A local official in western Iran, where several deaths were reported, was cited by state media as warning that any unrest or illegal gatherings would be met “decisively and without leniency.” nationwide protests driven by dissatisfaction at the country's economic stagnation.Protesters pulling down the flag of the Islamic Republic on a city street overnight in capital Tehran.

ویدیوی رسیده از اعتراضات در تهران نشان می‌دهد مردم معترض شامگاه جمعه پرچم جمهوری اسلامی را در خیابانی به پایین می‌کشند pic.twitter.com/V6IPvlBrh2

— ايران اينترنشنال (@IranIntl) January 2, 2026

State-affiliated media and rights groups in Iran reported Friday that at least 10 people have been killed in the nationwide protests against the regime since Wednesday, including one man who authorities said was a member of the Basij paramilitary force affiliated with the elite Revolutionary Guards. An Iranian police spokesman said on Friday that the authorities acknowledged that the protests “express the will of the people to improve their living conditions.”

In a letter to the UN secretary-general and president of the Security Council, Iranian UN Ambassador Amir-Saeid Iravani called for the Security Council to condemn Trump’s statements, while citing the Islamic Republic’s “inherent right to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, and to protect its people against any foreign interference.” “Iran will exercise its rights decisively and proportionately. The United States of America bears full responsibility for any consequences arising from these unlawful threats and any ensuing escalation,” he said in the letter.

The protests began on December 28, when shopkeepers in Tehran, Isfahan, Shiraz, and Mashhad took to the streets after the national currency collapsed to a record low of about 1.4 million rials per US dollar, driving food prices up roughly 60%. The economic strain is further worsened by ongoing sanctions and Iran’s prolonged conflict with Israel.