DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - The Iranian army said on Saturday it would safeguard strategic infrastructure and public property and urged Iranians ‌to ​thwart "the enemy's plots", as the clerical establishment steps up efforts to ‌quell the country's biggest protests in years.

Protests in Iran have reached nearly two weeks, with the government acknowledging ongoing demonstrations despite an intensifying crackdown.

Khamenei has now also lost an alliance first forged with Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez, who christened it the Axis of Unity. A former Iranian official quipped on X that Iran had to accept Hezbollah’s disarmament next: Donald Trump’s “new order is not that hard to understand!

"Regime teeters in Tehran" reads the headline of the Times, leading on remarks from US President Donald Trump, after he told Fox News that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was "looking to flee the country".

Amid the crackdown on protesters in Iran, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Washington “supports the brave people”. While Supreme Leader Khamenei alleged a US role in the protests, Trump renewed an earlier threat of military strikes if peaceful protesters are killed.

During the season three premiere episode of "Tehran" Tamar hides out before making a vital discovery after being forced to flee from pressure on her own side.

The decision came as the protests in Iran approached their 14th consecutive day, with riots and violent clashes reported in several cities.