The Iranian army has signaled it may join efforts to suppress the wave of protests sweeping Iran, while accusing Israel of orchestrating unrest from abroad.
In a statement released on Saturday, the army said it was operating "under the command of the Supreme Leader" and stressed that, alongside monitoring "enemy movements in the region," it would act to protect "national interests and public property."
The statement claimed that "the enemy, whose hands are stained with the blood of this nation's children in the 12-day war, is making false claims of support for the Iranian people and is attempting to advance another plot." The reference to the "enemy" is widely understood in Iran as an allusion to Israel.
At the same time, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a sharply worded warning, declaring that safeguarding the achievements of the Islamic Revolution and the country's security constituted a "red line." The message was a clear hint that authorities may intensify the crackdown in response to the broad protest movement.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Friday that the protesters were an "urban terror-like group" and alleged that "the events are being directed from outside the country." Referring to what he described as the "12-day war," Larijani said that "after the military operation began, the enemy tried to bring people into the streets but failed. Trump announced that if a social crisis emerged, they would attack, so this time the enemy's tactic was to try to break national unity."
Iranian authorities have reported the arrest of 100 people described as "armed rioters" in the town of Baharestan, near Tehran.
