Tehran, Iran, 11 January (H.S.): Iran's attorney general has issued a stark warning to demonstrators roiling the country, declaring that participants in the ongoing protests will be branded as enemies of God – a grave charge under Iranian law that carries the death penalty.

Mohammad Movahedi Azad's statement, broadcast on state television on Saturday, extends the accusation even to those merely aiding the rioters, signaling an unyielding governmental resolve to quash the unrest.

This pronouncement invokes Article 186 of Iran's penal code, which categorizes supporters of groups or organizations engaged in armed opposition to the Islamic Republic as mohareb – a term denoting enmity against God.

Even individuals who knowingly assist such entities without direct involvement in violence fall under this designation. Article 190 prescribes draconian penalties for mohareb, including execution, hanging, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or perpetual internal exile.

The attorney general urged prosecutors to expedite indictments and trials without leniency, compassion, or indulgence, framing the protests as a betrayal of the nation aimed at inviting foreign domination.

This hardline stance persists despite admonitions from the United States, underscoring Tehran's determination to suppress dissent at any cost.The protests, now in their second week, have exacted a heavy toll.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 65 people have perished, with over 2,300 arrests reported. Tehran remains shrouded in digital darkness, its internet severed and phone lines disrupted since Thursday, January 8, intensifying the isolation of protesters.

Fueling the demonstrations is profound economic despair, epitomized by the Iranian rial's plunge to a historic low of more than 1.4 million per US dollar in late December 2025. What began as widespread frustration with the collapsing currency has morphed into a broader anti-regime uprising, with crowds voicing deep-seated dissatisfaction against the Islamic Republic.

From exile, Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi has galvanized the movement, calling on demonstrators to flood the streets on Saturday, January 10, and Sunday, January 11. He urged them to reclaim public spaces using the pre-revolutionary lion-and-sun flag and other symbols from the Shah's era, amplifying calls for systemic change.

As security forces intensify their grip, the protests show no signs of abating, raising fears of further bloodshed in a nation already strained by economic woes and international isolation.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar