Iran Sees Protests as Unrest, Continuation of "12-Day War" with Israel

Protest in Tehran, Iran/PHOTO Mohammadhossein Movahedinejad (Tasnim) via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - Iranian authorities consider the escalation of protests to be a continuation of the 12-day war with Israel and will investigate all cases of provocation by both international and domestic bodies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier said the protests at the end of December 2025 were initially peaceful, centered on markets and trade unions. Iranian authorities at the time had engaged in dialogue with the demonstrators.

However, the demonstration was followed by a "second phase," in which "new faces" intervened, and the protests began to escalate into violence.

From January 8 to 10, "armed terrorist elements and groups" emerged, aiming to spark an uprising and bloodshed.

The diplomatic source said during this third phase, armed individuals fired shots at police officers and civilians, attempting to provoke intervention from the US government.

"Iran views this phase as a continuation of the '12-Day War'. This crime will be investigated by international and domestic authorities," the source said, quoted by ANTARA from Sputnik.

"The fourth stage of the protests began on January 10, but now the situation is under control, because "many terrorist elements have been detained with weapons in their hands, and their testimonies will be published soon," the source added.

The source also accused some of the rioters of receiving 600 US dollars (about Rp10 million) for attacking police stations and 300 US dollars (about Rp5 million) for burning government vehicles.