President Masoud Pezeshkian strikes a conciliatory tone in an interview broadcast on state television, but accuses the United States and Israel of fueling unrest that has killed dozens of people.
Posted on January 11, 2026
President Masoud Pezeshkian has vowed to reform Iran's ailing economy and said his government is “ready to listen to its people” after two weeks of increasingly violent protests across the country.
Pezeshkian took a conciliatory approach during a televised interview on state television on Sunday, saying his embattled administration was determined to solve the country's economic problems while accusing the United States and Israel of fomenting deadly unrest.
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The crisis erupted after Iran's currency plunged in late December following years of economic hardship, sparking mass protests over rising living costs and inflation. Since then, those protests have taken on a more political and anti-government character.
The president accused the United States and Israel of trying to “sow chaos and disorder” by directing elements of the riots and called on Iranians to distance themselves from what he described as “troublemakers and terrorists.”
The demonstrations are the largest in Iran since a 2022-2023 protest movement spurred by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict dress code for women.
“People have concerns. We should sit down with them and, if it is our duty, we should resolve their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. “But the highest duty is not to allow a group of troublemakers to come and destroy the entire society.”
Tohid Asadi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said Iranian officials had spent the past week trying to draw a distinction between protesters and what they described as foreign-trained rioters.
Asadi added that senior officials had acknowledged that public anger was justified, citing “rising prices, high inflation and the drastic devaluation of the local currency which is currently putting enormous pressure on the pockets of the local population.”
State media reported that 109 security personnel were killed during the protests.
Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reinforced the distinction between peaceful and armed protesters during his remarks to lawmakers on Sunday, saying Iran recognized “the peaceful protests of the people over economic concerns” but would oppose “terrorists.”
Qalibaf, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also issued a stern warning to Washington after US President Donald Trump threatened military action if Iranian authorities killed protesters.
“In the event of an attack against Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] as well as all American bases and ships will be our legitimate target,” he said as some lawmakers allegedly chanted anti-American slogans.
Trump had declared on social media that the United States was “ready to help” Iran, suggesting possible attacks but ruling out ground troops. His comments represented a significant escalation as Tehran faces its most serious internal challenge in years.
The Interior Ministry said the unrest is subsiding as Iran's attorney general warned participants they could face capital punishment. According to monitoring groups, the nationwide Internet blackout has persisted for more than 60 hours.
Human rights organizations reported that at least 51 protesters were killed by security forces, including nine children, and hundreds more were injured and mass arrests were carried out across the country.
