Breaking News:Iran protests LIVE: Khamenei says ‘arrogant’ Trump will be ‘overthrown’ as protests sweep Iran– What Just Happened

Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei said punishment for protestors would be “decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency”, AP reported.

Iran protests live updates: The European Union on Friday called on Iran’s government to restore internet access in the country. “The people of Iran are expressing their legitimate aspiration for a better life. Any violence against peaceful demonstrators is unacceptable,” EU spokesman Anouar El Anouni said, according to AFP.

Iran protests live updates: An Iranian prosecutor and several security personnel were allegedly killed during protests in the city of Esfarayen in North Khorasan, the head of the province’s judiciary said, according to an Iran International report.

“Last night, during the unrest in Esfarayen, Ali Akbar Hosseinzadeh, the public and revolutionary prosecutor, was present in the city to carry out field supervision alongside police and security forces,” the official said.

In Iran’s Khorasan Razavi province, protestors attacked the Chenaran city police station, leading to the deaths of five, according to Deputy for Security and Law Enforcement of the Razavi Khorasan Governor’s Office. Further, buses were set on fire Mashhad amid unrest, WANA reported.

Several flights from Dubai to Iran for Friday have been cancelled, amid unrest in the country, Iran International reported. These included flights to Tehran, Shiraz and Mashhad, among other cities, according to the Dubai airport website.

Earlier, Turkish airlines has cancelled five Friday flights to Iran’s capital Tehran, according to the Istanbul Airport app. A flight from Turkish Airlines to Shiraz, and another Pegasus flight to Mashad turned back from the Iranian air space on Thursday night, AFP reported citing Flight Radar website.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he would not “back down” in the face of protestors, who he referred to as “vandals” and “saboteurs”. He further targeted US President Donald Trump, alleging he would be “overthrown” like the imperial dynasty that ruled Iran up to the 1979 revolution, AFP reported.

Iran protests live updates: Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei called Donald Trump “arrogant”, while alleging that the US President’s “hands are stained with the blood” of Iranians, AFP reported. He further claimed that Trump will be “overthrown”, while asking the US President to focus on problems in his own country.

Iran protests live updates: The Tehran prosecutor’s office issued a warning to those giving or following “anti-Iranian calls”, WANA news agency reported. The prosecutor further announced the formation of judicial cases for several brands, stores, and some social media figures, according to WANA.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Khamenei said the country won’t tolerate mercenaries for foreigners, according to Reuters news agency. This comes after the Iran’s state TV in a report on the protests earlier blamed “terrorist agents” from Israel and United States for sparking violence in the country.

Iran protests live updates: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday said protestors are “ruining their own streets to make the President of another country happy”, in a reference to US President Donald Trump AP reported.

After protests began, Trump had threatened the Iran government over crackdown on protestors. 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.

Iran protests live updates: Iran’s state broadcaster has aired the speech given by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In his first speech amid the unrest in Tehran and other major cities and rural areas, Khamenei asked US President Donald Trump to focus on problems in the US.

Iran protests live updates: Former crown prince Reza Pahlavi on Friday said he was “proud of each and every one” of the people who had taken to the streets after his call on Thursday.

“You saw that the large crowds caused the forces of repression to retreat,” the exiled crown prince said. “I also invite field leaders to try to connect the different paths of the crowd and make them bigger. I know that despite the internet and communications being cut off, you will not leave the streets,” he said in a post on X.

Iran protests live updates: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will address the public shortly, amid the escalation in protests in the country, Reuters reported citing the state TV.

This comes after the country saw a massive escalation in protests on Thursday, after a call by exiled crown prince Reza Pahlavi which urged the people to take to the streets.

Iran protests live updates: A flight from Turkish Airlines to Shiraz, and another Pegasus flight to Mashad turned back from the Iranian air space on Thursday night, AFP reported citing Flight Radar website.

Turkish airlines has cancelled five Friday flights to Iran’s capital Tehran, according to the Istanbul Airport app. Meanwhile, five other flights of the Iranian airlines have also been cancelled, with seven others remaining scheduled.

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.

Iran protests live updates: Turkish Airlines has cancelled five 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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.