The rallies came as internet monitor NetBlocks said authorities imposed a “nationwide internet shutdown” for the last 24 hours that was violating the rights of Iranians and “masking regime violence”. Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has called protesters "vandals" and "saboteurs" in his first comments on the protests since January 3. Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights, raising a previous toll of 45 issued the day earlier, said at least 51 protesters, including nine children, have been killed by security forces and hundreds more injured. ‘Stained with blood’In his first comments on the escalating protests since January 3, Khamenei on Saturday called the demonstrators “vandals” and “saboteurs”. Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi, who lives in exile, warned security forces could be preparing to commit a “massacre under the cover of a sweeping communications blackout”.

Source: New Zealand Herald January 09, 2026 19:36 UTC