Iran protests: President Masoud blames terrorist elements for mass destruction
By Al Jazeera, January 12, 2026Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to address mounting economic grievances in the country, saying his government is “ready to listen” to protesters while urging them to prevent “rioters” and “terrorist elements” from wreaking havoc.
Pezeshkian spoke about the unrest in an interview on state television on Sunday, January 11, 2026, as the demonstrations, which began when merchants at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar closed their shops over the Iranian rial’s sharp depreciation, entered a third week.
The Iranian president told the IRIB broadcaster that Israel and the United States were masterminding the destabilisation in the country, saying that “the same people who struck this country” during Israel’s 12-day war in June were “trying to escalate these unrests about the economic discussion”.
“They have trained some people inside and outside the country; they have bought in some terrorists from outside,” Pezeshkian said, claiming the perpetrators had attacked a bazaar in the city of Rasht and set “mosques on fire”.
The Iranian president said the government had heard the shopkeepers’ concerns and is going to solve their problems “by any means necessary. But he urged the public not to allow “rioters” to disrupt the country.
“Rioters are not protesting people. We hear the protesters and have made every effort to solve their problems,” he said.
The protests, which have evolved from economic grievances into broader antigovernment demonstrations, are the largest in Iran since the 2022-2023 movement spurred by the custodial death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
Death toll rises
State media reported that 109 security personnel have been killed during the latest unrest. Authorities have not confirmed the number of demonstrators who have lost their lives, but opposition activists based outside the country say the death toll is higher and includes hundreds of protesters.
Al Jazeera cannot independently verify the figures.
Footage, verified by Al Jazeera, from a morgue in Kahrizak, south of Tehran, showed dozens of bodies in black bags outside the facility, with apparent relatives searching for loved ones. State television broadcast similar scenes from Tehran’s coroner’s office, attributing deaths to “armed terrorists.
Authorities on Sunday also declared three days of national mourning “in honour of martyrs killed in resistance against the United States and the Zionist regime”, according to state media. Iran’s Ministry of Interior claimed the unrest is subsiding as the attorney general warned participants they could face capital punishment.
A nationwide internet blackout has persisted for more than 72 hours, according to monitoring groups.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Sunday he was “shocked” by reports of violence against protesters in Iran and called on the government to show restraint.
“The rights to freedom of expression, association & peaceful assembly must be fully respected & protected,” he said on X.