DUBAI, January 10. /TASS/. Iranian security forces have detained at least 200 leaders of armed groups accused of organizing mass unrest, the Tasnim news agency reported, citing law enforcement sources.

During the operations, a large quantity of weapons, ammunition, grenades, and Molotov cocktails were seized from the hiding places of the pogromists, the agency said.

The arrest of leaders of the groups that used protesters as human shields, was one of the reasons for the decline in the intensity of the unrest on January 10, Tasnim 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.