DUBAI, January 10. /TASS/. Peaceful protests in Iran have escalated into pogroms as a result of outside interference, Hadi Tahan Nazif, spokesperson of Iran's Guardian Council, said.

"External interference has turned people's peaceful protests aimed at satisfying socio-economic demands into riots," he was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

"Hands stained with blood of more than a thousand Iranians killed in the 12-day war [with Israel] are visible in those riots," the representative of Iranian authorities noted.

On December 29, 2025, merchants began protesting in Tehran due to a sharp decline in the Iranian rial. On December 30, students joined the unrest. Riots spread to most major cities. On January 2, groups of unknown armed individuals appeared on the streets, and armed clashes between rioters and law enforcement increased.

The peak of the unrest occurred on the evening of January 8, when at least 11 civilians, including a child, and several law enforcement officers, including the Esfarayen city prosecutor, were killed as a result of the rioters’ actions. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani reported that rioters burned 25 mosques in the capital, damaged 26 banks, three medical centers, 10 government buildings, 48 fire trucks, 42 buses and ambulances, and 24 apartments. Iranian authorities labeled the rioters terrorists and blamed Israel and the United States for the unrest.