Tehran's main prosecutor said that those protestersinvolved in burning government buildings, clashing with armed forces, and "committing sabotage" would face the death sentence, Reuters reported, citing Iranian state media on Friday. The decision came as the protests in Iran approached their 14th consecutive day, with riots and violent clashes reported in several cities, while a total shutdown of the internet was imposed by the regime nationwide.
Earlier on Friday, reports from the Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) assured that it had warned the judicial system that security forces will show "no leniency towards saboteurs." The SNSC said that security and law-enforcement forces had been deployed to "neutralise the destabilisation plans of the Zionist regime [Israel] and its godfather, the United States".
The statement assured that foreign actors were influencing the protests, and strongly condemned attacks on religious symbols and symbols of the Islamic Republic, like the burning of flags and statues of the late IRGC Quds Force Commander Qasem Soleimani. The Islamic Republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, accused protesters of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as "mercenaries for foreigners." "Last night in Tehran & some other cities, a bunch of people bent on destruction came and destroyed buildings that belong to their own country in order to please the President of the US and make him happy," he said. (Read More)
