Protesters march on a bridge in Tehran, Iran, on Dec. 29, 2025.
Iran will offer no leniency to "rioters,” though people have the right to demonstrate, the head of the judiciary said on Jan. 5, following more than a week of protests.
"I instruct the attorney general and prosecutors across the country to act in accordance with the
law and with resolve against the rioters and those who support them... and to show no leniency or indulgence," Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency.
New deadly clashes between protesters and security forces erupted in Iran, as demonstrations first sparked by anger over the rising cost of living entered a second week.
At least 19 people, including members of the security forces, have been killed since the protests kicked off with a shopkeepers' strike in Tehran on Dec. 28, 2025.
Overnight, protests featuring slogans criticizing the Islamic Republic's clerical authorities were reported in Tehran, Shiraz in the south, and in areas of western Iran where the movement has been concentrated.
The demonstrations are the most significant in Iran since a 2022-2023 movement sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran's strict dress code for women.
The protests present a new challenge for supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, and in power since 1989 , coming on the heels of a 12-day war with Israel in June that saw nuclear infrastructure damaged and key members of the security elite killed.
With the government under pressure to show a response to the economic pain, spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told state TV that citizens would receive a monthly allowance equivalent to $7 for the next four months.
President Donald Trump warned on Jan. 4 that Iran would get "hit very hard" by the United States if more protesters die.
Meanwhile, The Time reported that Khamenei will escape to Moscow if his regime collapses.
Khamenei will flee Tehran with his aides and family members if his security forces fail to halt the growing demonstrations or desert his side amid the unrest, the report said.
“The ‘plan B’ is for Khamenei and his very close circle of associates and family, including his son and nominated heir apparent, Mojtaba,” an intelligence source told the British newspaper.
