‘Distinguish Protesters From Rioters': Iran President Tells Security Forces Amid Massive Unrest

Last Updated:January 07, 2026, 15:56 IST

Iran President’s comments came as the country's top military leadership struck a more confrontational tone, warning against what it described as foreign interference in the unrest.

The protests continued despite a crackdown after country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, addressed protesters as “rioters”. (AFP)

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered security forces not to crack down on economic protests, drawing a distinction between peaceful demonstrators and armed individuals he described as “rioters," state media reported.

In a video released by the Mehr news agency after a cabinet meeting, Vice President Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah said Masoud Pezeshkian had “ordered that no security measures be taken against the demonstrators."

“Those who carry firearms, knives and machetes and who attack police stations and military sites are rioters, and we must distinguish protesters from rioters," Ghaempanah added.

Iran President’s comments came as the country’s top military leadership struck a more confrontational tone, warning against what it described as foreign interference in the unrest.

Iran’s military chief General Amir Hatami said that Tehran would not stand by while facing threats from outside powers, after the United States and Israel voiced support for anti-government protests.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the escalation of hostile rhetoric against the Iranian nation a threat and will not tolerate its continuation without responding," Amir Hatami said, according to the Fars news agency.

Amir Hatami, who commands the Iranian army but is not the country’s most senior military officer, warned that “if the enemy makes a mistake," Iran’s response would be more forceful than during last June’s 12-day war with Israel.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump threatened to intervene if demonstrators were killed, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly backed the protests.

“We’re watching it very closely. If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they’re going to get hit very hard by the United States," Donald Trump said.

Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, told Israel’s cabinet, “We stand in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom, liberty and justice."

Iran’s foreign ministry accused Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu of inciting violence and attempting to undermine national unity.

The latest demonstrations began on December 28, when merchants in Tehran protested against soaring prices and the collapse of the rial, triggering similar actions in several cities. Some of the protests turned deadly. While the unrest has not reached the scale of the nationwide protests of 2022–2023, or the mass demonstrations that followed Iran’s disputed 2009 presidential election, the economic protests have drawn significant international attention, particularly from Iran’s long-standing adversaries.

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