Iran has been gripped by increasingly large protests, which entered their 14th day. The Iranian army said today that it will safeguard strategic infrastructure and public property, as the government steps up efforts to quell the country’s biggest protests in years. The Iranian military statement came after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a new warning to Iran’s leaders. Trump has warned again that he could order military strikes.

Meanwhile, major street protests reported in main cities, including the capital, Tehran, and the second most populous city Mashhad. State media said a municipal building was set on fire in Karaj, west of Tehran. Tehran Mayor Alireza Zakani said, unrest on Thursday night saw more than 50 banks and several government buildings set on fire.

He said, more than 30 mosques went up in flames. Iranian rights group HRANA said it had documented 65 deaths including 50 protesters and 15 security personnel as of January 9. The Norway-based human rights group Hengaw claimed more than 2,500 people had been arrested over the past two weeks.

Videos shared widely on social media showed crowds gathering in central areas of the cities. People in Tehran’s Sadatabad district banged pots and chanted anti-government slogans. The New York-based Centre for Human Rights in Iran said it received credible eyewitness accounts that hospitals in Tehran, Mashhad, and Karaj were overwhelmed with injured demonstrators.

Meanwhile, Iran’s supreme leader vowed that authorities will not back down in the face of the rapidly growing protest movement, setting the stage for an intensified violent crackdown.

Protests have raged in cities and towns across the country in recent days, posing a threat to the authority of the regime, which has been significantly weakened since the last large protest movement in the country in 2022.