TEHRAN – President Masoud Pezeshkian issued a message to the Iranian nation a day after casualty figures from the terrorist surge convulsing Iran early this month were released, confirming official accusations that the U.S. and Israel had mobilized mercenaries and exploited legitimate protests to compensate for the defeat they suffered during the 12-Day War in June.

Pezeshkian conveyed his profound condolences to the families of those who lost their lives during the unrest, characterizing the recent events as a severe and trying ordeal for the nation. “What we experienced over the past weeks was an extremely difficult test, one that has left lasting wounds,” he said.

“These painful and bitter incidents were, above all, distressing and intolerable for me in my role as president and as the representative chosen by the people.”

He added that hostile elements had exploited the people’s legitimate and peaceful protests, transforming them into scenes of bloodshed and violence.

“The same evil hands that, in the 12-day war, shed the blood of more than a thousand women, men, youths, children, scientists and commanders of this land, today emerged from another sleeve,” the president explained.

“And, by inciting a number of mercenaries, they turned protest — which is the natural right of a dynamic and vibrant society — into an unholy rage, in whose fire hundreds of mosques, schools, public places and national assets were reduced to ashes.”

The riots were preceded by days of peaceful protests from Iranian bazaaris, who were demonstrating against the fall of the rial caused by years of Western sanctions. The situation shifted after the deposed shah’s son, operating under a US-Israeli umbrella, called on his “followers” to take to the streets on January 8 and 9 to topple the Islamic Republic. This call prompted the original protesters to stay away from the streets that weekend; they were instead replaced by masked individuals who killed security forces and civilians alike and set fire to public and private property. In the span of just two to three days, rioters killed approximately 2,500 security forces and ordinary civilians, using live ammunition, Molotov cocktails, and knives to commit the murders. 

“The American-Zionist conspiracy of Dey 1404 was the cowardly revenge of the enemies of the Iranian nation for their defeat in the 12-day war,” Pezeshkian said, adding that he has tasked several groups with “carefully examining the causes and factors behind these events” in order to identify and eliminate “the roots of violence.”

The terrorist surge was swiftly brought under control after Iran’s security apparatus imposed internet restrictions, effectively severing communication between the rioters and their handlers in Western Europe and Israel. Hundreds of these individuals have since been arrested across Iran, while approximately 600 have been confirmed killed, raising the total death toll to more than 3,100. Those detained have been identified as either direct Mossad and CIA operatives, individuals with prior criminal records, or young people who were influenced by online propaganda to carry out acts of vandalism and attacks on security forces. Large caches of weapons, explosives, and ammunition were also confiscated from the detainees.

Western governments have fully thrown their weight behind the terror cells, portraying them as peaceful protesters who have since been sidelined, while conveniently ignoring the mayhem they unleashed in Iranian cities and the trail of death they left behind. At the behest of Western states, both the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council convened emergency sessions solely to pile pressure on the Iranian government. Yet neither the United States nor its European allies have offered to lift the debilitating sanctions that continue to strangle the Iranian public.

Instead, Washington announced the imposition of new sanctions on Friday, after U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to back away from his earlier promise to attack Iran in support of the terrorists. Trump had openly encouraged terrorism by urging the rioters to ‘take over your institutions,’ while assuring them that ‘help’ was on the way.

Iranian intelligence circles say the United States and Israel had hoped their armed agents would seize military bases and police stations, gain access to additional ammunition, and spread insecurity across the country. This, in turn, would have paved the way for a second war against Iran, following the initial conflict in June of 2025, which ended with no concrete gains for either the U.S. or Israeli regimes. Iranian officials have stated that they are fully prepared for another round of war and have warned that they will not exercise the same restraint this time around.

Analysts believe Tehran intends to raise the cost of aggression and would therefore turn to a range of previously unexplored options in the event of a new war. These could include closing the Strait of Hormuz, striking the strategic assets of any country that allows its airspace to be used by Israel or the United States, and deliberately targeting American soldiers—between 40,000 and 50,000 of whom are stationed within easy reach of Iranian missiles and drones. Pummelling the occupied territories would unquestionably follow.