This frame grab from a video released Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, by Iranian state television shows a man holding a device to document burning vehicles during a night of mass protests in Zanjan, Iran. (Iranian state TV via AP)2026-01-10T08:48:25Z DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Protests sweeping across Iran neared the two-week mark Saturday, with the countrys government acknowledging the ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown and as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world. With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. But the death toll in the protests has grown to at least 65 people killed and over 2,300 others detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Iranian state TV is reporting on security force casualties while portraying control over the nation. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has signaled a coming clampdown, despite U.S. warnings.The United States supports the brave people of Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote Saturday on the social platform X. The State Department separately warned: Do not play games with President Trump. When he says hell do something, he means it. State TV split-screen highlights Irans challengeSaturday marks the start of the work week in Iran, but many schools and universities reportedly held online classes, Iranian state TV reported. Internal Iranian government websites are believed to be functioning.State TV repeatedly played a driving, martial orchestral arrangement from the Epic of Khorramshahr by Iranian composer Majid Entezami, while showing pro-government demonstrations. The song, aired repeatedly during the 12-day war launched by Israel, honors Irans 1982 liberation of the city of Khorramshahr during the Iran-Iraq war. It has been used in videos of protesting women cutting away their hair to protest the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini as well. Field reports indicate that peace prevailed in most cities of the country at night, a state TV anchor reported. After a number of armed terrorists attacked public places and set fire to peoples private property last night, there was no news of any gathering or chaos in Tehran and most provinces last night. That was directly contradicted by an online video verified by The Associated Press that showed demonstrations in northern Tehrans Saadat Abad area, with what appeared to be thousands on the street.Death to Khamenei! a man chanted.The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and one of the few media outlets able to publish to the outside world, released surveillance camera footage of what it said came from demonstrations in Isfahan. In it, a protester appeared to fire a long gun, while others set fires and threw gasoline bombs at what appeared to be a government compound. The Young Journalists Club, associated with state TV, reported that protesters killed three members of the Guards all-volunteer Basij force in the city of Gachsaran. It also reported a security official was stabbed to death in Hamadan province, a police officer killed in the port city of Bandar Abbas and another in Gilan, as well as one person slain in Mashhad. State television also aired footage of a funeral service attended by hundreds in Qom, a Shiite seminary city just south of Tehran. More weekend demonstrations planned Irans theocracy cut off the nation from the internet and international telephone calls on Thursday, though it allowed some state-owned and semiofficial media to publish. Qatars state-funded Al Jazeera news network reported live from Iran, but they appeared to be the only major foreign outlet able to work. Irans exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, who called for protests Thursday and Friday, asked demonstrators to take to the streets Saturday and Sunday with Irans old lion-and-sun flag, used during the time of the shah. Pahlavis support of and from Israel has drawn criticism in the past particularly after the 12-day war. Demonstrators have shouted in support of the shah in some protests, but it isnt clear whether thats support for Pahlavi himself or a desire to return to a time before the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the countrys economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Irans theocracy. JON GAMBRELL Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006. twitter instagram mailto