Amid two weeks of mass protests, Iran's attorney general, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, has warned that anyone participating in demonstrations will be considered an "enemy of God", a charge that comes with the death penalty under Iranian law. The statement carried by Iranian state television said even those who "helped rioters" would face the charge.
Article 186 of the Iranian law states that if a group or organisation engages in armed opposition to the Islamic Republic, all members or supporters who knowingly assist its aims may be considered 'mohareb' (enemies of God), even if they do not personally participate in armed activities.
The punishments for 'mohareb', outlined in Article 190 of the code, are severe and include execution, hanging, amputation of the right hand and left foot, or permanent internal exile.
The clampdown that comes despite US warnings says, "Prosecutors must carefully and without delay, by issuing indictments, prepare the grounds for the trial and decisive confrontation with those who, by betraying the nation and creating insecurity, seek foreign domination over the country," the statement read. "Proceedings must be conducted without leniency, compassion or indulgence."
At least 65 people died during the protests, and over 2,300 were detained, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. The internet is down in Tehran, and phone lines have been cut off since Thursday.
Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for protests and urged demonstrators to come on the streets on Saturday and Sunday, carrying Iran's old lion-and-sun flag and other national symbols used during the time of the shah to "claim public spaces as your own".
The demonstrations started as a general dissatisfaction with the Islamic Republic as the Iranian rial currency collapsed to a record low of over 1.4 million per US dollar in late December 2025 and have since evolved into widespread anti-government demonstrations.
