Protesters vandalized 26 banks and 25 mosques in Tehran, the mayor of the Iranian capital, Alireza Zakani, reported TRT Arabi.
Zakani added that another 24 residential buildings and two hospitals were looted. Forty-eight fire engines were also burned. He blamed “foreign enemies“ exploiting youth and inciting damage to public property.
The North Khorasan Prosecutor's Office also said in a statement that "provocateurs who arrived in the province from different regions set fire to a convoy of vehicles carrying Prosecutor Ali Akbar Khazinzadeh and several security officers." The protesters also prevented firefighters from extinguishing the fire, which resulted in the death of the prosecutor and his bodyguard. The authorities have launched an investigation to arrest those involved.
The protests in Iran began on December 28 in Tehran's main bazaar. Initially, shopkeepers and students joined the protests, expressing dissatisfaction with the government's actions against the backdrop of a sharp decline in the national currency and rising prices. Shortly after the protests began, the head of the Central Bank of Iran, Mohammad Farzin, resigned. The demonstrations spread to other cities.
According to the Human Rights Activists news agency, as of January 8, at least 42 protesters and eight security personnel had been killed in the unrest, and the number of detainees had exceeded 2,200. Ayatollah Khamenei believes that protesters in Iran are “burning trash cans“ to please US President Donald Trump.
On January 7, Fox News reported that the Iranian city of Abdanan (Ilam Province), located near the Iraqi border, had been completely taken over by protesters. The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) also announced the “capture of the city“. In addition to Abdanan, the city of Malekshahi has also been taken.
US President Donald Trump warned that the US was ready to deal “a heavy blow“ of Iran if protesters are shot at and there are casualties.
“We're going to hit them really hard where it hurts. And that doesn't mean armed forces on the ground, but really hard where it hurts. Iran is in a very difficult situation,” Trump said.