Updated on: Jan 09, 2026 1:22:38 PM IST
Iran protests LIVE updates: Trump has alleged that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “looking to go someplace” amid the unrest.
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Even as markets and bazaars were shut in support of protesters, violence around the protests has led to deaths of at least 42 people, according to the Associated Press. More than 2,270 persons have been detained in connection with the agitation, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The protests which began on December 28 with a shutdown in Tehran Bazaar, have spread to all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
Internet shutdown, state broadcaster blames US, Israel: Latest developments
• Iran’s government enforced an internet shutdown in the country, while also cutting off international phone calls, AP reported. This came even as protesters heeded exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who had called on people to shout from their windows and storm the streets.
• “What turned the tide of the protests was former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for Iranians to take to the streets at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,” Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told AP.
• Meanwhile, Iranian state media has blamed “terrorist agents” of United States and Israel for sparking the violence, according to AP. The TV report stated that “people’s private cars, motorcycles, public places such as the metro, fire trucks and buses (were) set on fire”, while adding that there had been “casualties”.
• Unconfirmed videos posted online showed protestors chanting slogans against the government around bonfired. HT.com has not independently verified the authenticity of these videos.
• The full scope of the protests has not yet been determined, given that the government imposed a communications blackout in the country. “This is exactly why the internet was shut down: to prevent the world from seeing the protests,” Dagres told AP, adding that it could provide “cover for security forces to kill protesters.”
• US President Donald Trump threatened Iran on Thursday and said that the US would take strong action if Iran kills protesters. Iran has “been told very strongly, even more strongly than I’m speaking to you right now, that if they do that, they’re going to have to pay hell,” Trump said, according to AP.
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Jan 09, 2026 1:22:38 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: France calls on Iranian authorities to show maximum restraint towards protestors
Iran protests live updates: Amid the widespread agitation in Iran, France has called on the country’s government to show maximum restraint towards protestors, Reuters reported citing a French diplomatic source.
Meanwhile, Turkey has cancelled all Istanbul-Tehran flights in light of the escalating violence in Iran.
Jan 09, 2026 1:12:21 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: Turkish Airlines cancels Istanbul-Tehran flights
Iran protests live updates: Turkish Airlines has cancelled all Istanbul-Tehran flights, AFP cited the Istanbul airport authorities as saying. This comes amid unrest in Iran over the economy and the collapse of the Rial.
Jan 09, 2026 12:56:30 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: Who is Reza Pahlavi? Former crown prince whose call brought protestors to streets
Iran protests live updates: Reza Pahlavi, who is living in exile in the United States, is the son of the deposed Shah of Iran, who had fled the country when fatally ill before the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Pahlavi called for people to take to the streets at 8 pm on Thursday and Friday. After protests on Thursday, the former crown prince said the “Iranians demanded their freedom tonight.”
Jan 09, 2026 12:40:23 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: Iran state TV reports on protests, blames US-Israel ‘terrorist agents’
Iran protests live updates: In its first report on the protests and unrest in the country, Iran’s state broadcaster has blames US and Israel “terrorist agents”n for sparking violence in the country, AP reported.
The broadcaster said there had been “casualties” during the agitation, while refraining from elaborating further. The state TV also claimed that “people’s private cars, motorcycles, public places such as the metro, fire trucks and buses (were) set on fire” during protests.
Jan 09, 2026 12:33:28 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: ‘Not sure it would be appropriate,’ says Trump over whether he would meet Iran’s exiled crown prince
Iran protests live updates: Asked whether he would be open to meeting Iran’s former crown prince Reza Pahlavi, US President Donald Trump said it would not be appropriate.
“I’m not sure that it would be appropriate at this point to do that as president,” Trump said. “I think that we should let everybody go out there, and we see who emerges,” the US President added, according to AP.
Jan 09, 2026 12:26:47 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: ‘Iranians demanded their freedom tonight,’ says exiled crown prince
Iran protests live updates: After protestors took to streets on Reza Pahlavi’s call, the former crown prince said the “Iranians demanded their freedom tonight.”
“In response, the regime in Iran has cut all lines of communication. It has shut down the Internet. It has cut landlines. It may even attempt to jam satellite signals,” Pahlavi said, while calling on global leaders, including Trump, to “hold the regime to account”, according to AP.
Jan 09, 2026 12:00:48 PM IST
Iran protests live updates: Trump says Khamenei ‘looking to go somewhere’ amid unrest
Iran protests live updates: Amid widespread unrest in the country, US President Donald Trump has alleged that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is “looking to go someplace”, while adding that the situation in the country is “getting very bad”, AP reported.
Jan 09, 2026 11:45:08 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: Protests escalate after exiled crown prince’s call
Protests in Iran escalated Thursday following Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for the people to take to the streets at 8 pm on Thursday and Friday.
“What turned the tide of the protests was former Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s calls for Iranians to take to the streets at 8 p.m. on Thursday and Friday,” Holly Dagres, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told AP.
“Per social media posts, it became clear that Iranians had delivered and were taking the call seriously to protest in order to oust the Islamic Republic,” Dagres said.
Jan 09, 2026 11:42:14 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: Why are Iranians protesting?
The protests in Iran, which have continued for around 12 days now, began on December 28 with the shutdown of the Tehran Bazaar. The protests began over the economic condition of the country, in the wake of collapse of the Iranian currency Rial.
Jan 09, 2026 11:37:33 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: At least 34 protestors killed, 2,270 detained
Iran protests live updates: At least 34 protestors have been killed during the agitation against the government and anger over the collapse of Iran’s currency Rial.
Further, around 2,270 protestors have been detained, according to US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), BBC reported.
Jan 09, 2026 11:26:11 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: Video shows protestor purportedly trying to take down govt surveillance camera
Among the videos doing rounds on social media, a purported footage of the protest in Iran shows a person allegedly trying to take down a surveillance camera.
A massive crowd is seen gathered and chanting slogans around the person. HT.com could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Jan 09, 2026 11:12:49 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: People take to streets after exiled crown prince’s call
Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose father fled Iran before the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution while fatally ill, ha on Thursday called for protestors to shout from their windows. Iranian protestors heeded the call and marched through the streets into Friday morning, AP reported.
This was despite Iran’s government shutting down the internet and international phone lines.
Jan 09, 2026 10:54:17 AM IST
Iran protests live updates: Massive rally in Tehran, protests spread to all provinces
Iran protests live updates: Visuals of a massive rally in Tehran emerged even as protests in the country spread to all 31 of its provinces. The photos and videos showed a sea of people out on the roads chanting slogans.
A large crowd was seen gathering on the vast Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard in the northwest of Tehran, AFP reported.