Art university students voice support for nationwide protests

Iran’s authorities should closely watch developments in Venezuela, Israel’s opposition leader Yair Lapid wrote in a post on X Saturday.

"The regime in Iran should pay close attention to what is happening in Venezuela," he said.

US President Donald Trump said early Saturday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife were captured and flown out of the country, confirming that US forces had carried out what he described as a large-scale strike as explosions were reported in Caracas and other areas.

Iran would respond forcefully to any action by the United States or Israel, including against US bases and interests in the region, an Iranian lawmaker said on Saturday.

“In the event of any action or adventurism, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s response will not only be deterrent but more powerful than in the past, and US bases and interests in the region will not see calm days,” state media quoted Esmail Kosari as saying.

“Trump and Netanyahu should know that if Iran decides, it can deliver far heavier blows, and any action by them will be met with a response that is firmer and more severe than before.”

Tehran merchants have called for a protest gathering on Sunday, according to a statement shared by the Telegram channel Civil Protest of the Bazaar.

The statement said merchants plan to gather on Sunday, at pre-designated locations in the Tehran bazaar to continue protests and pursue their demands.

It described the planned action as part of what it called a "nationwide movement seeking freedom, justice and dignity," and urged merchants to continue their action alongside the public until their goals are reached.

Information received by Iran International confirms that Amirhossein Bayati, also known as Amir Caffeine, was killed after being shot by security forces during protests in the western city of Hamedan on Thursday evening.

Bayati’s body was taken to a local hospital after he was shot, but security agents have since prevented his family from taking custody of his body, according to the information.

Bayati had married less than a year ago and owned a coffee shop on Bu Ali Street in Hamedan, sources told Iran International.

Security agents surrounded Bayati’s family from the moment he was transferred to the hospital and confiscated mobile phones belonging to several relatives, a friend said.

Videos received by Iran International show protesters gathering in Hamedan on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights, chanting anti-government slogans, with security forces firing at crowds.

“A number of agitated people, enemy mercenaries, had positioned themselves behind bazaar merchants and chanted slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic,” Ali Khamenei said, according to state media.

“Protest is legitimate, but protest is different from rioting,” Khamenei added. “Officials should speak with protesters. Speaking with a rioter is pointless. Rioters must be put in their place,” he said.

The comments marked Khamenei’s first public response to the latest wave of demonstrations, which have intensified amid economic strain and currency volatility.

Khamenei’s language echoed his stance during earlier nationwide protests, including the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising and demonstrations in November 2019, when security forces used lethal force to suppress unrest.

At least eight protesters have been killed so far after being shot by security forces during the current unrest, according to human rights groups. Independent organizations, including Iran Human Rights Organization, previously documented 551 deaths – among them 68 children – during the 2022 protests.

Currency crisis blamed on ‘the enemy’

Khamenei also attributed the protests to economic grievances while assigning responsibility for the currency crisis to foreign adversaries. “These gatherings were mainly by bazaar merchants,” he said, adding that sharp and unstable exchange-rate swings were “not natural” and were “the work of the enemy.”

He accused unnamed actors of exploiting merchants’ complaints to cause “damage and insecurity,” saying such actions were “unacceptable.”

The remarks came as protesters in several cities have chanted for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic and mainly voiced support for the exiled prince Reza Pahlavi.

Confrontation with ‘the enemy’

Khamenei closed by insisting the Islamic Republic would not retreat. “The enemy will not sit quietly and uses every opportunity,” he said, adding that authorities “were and will be present in the field.”

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  Protesters back in Tehran streets following Trump’s message on sixth day

On Friday, US President Donald Trump warned that if Iranian authorities shoot peaceful protesters, the United States would act to help the people.

"If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go," Trump wrote in a message published on his Truth Social account.

Iranian officials responded with warnings toward the United States and Israel.