Iran schools to reopen Sunday after one-week closure: media

• Iranian schools and universities are scheduled to reopen Sunday following a week-long nationwide shutdown, signaling the government's attempt to restore normalcy as the most intense wave of economic and political protests in years begins to subside.
• Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei issued a call to "break the back" of protesters while acknowledging for the first time that "several thousand" people were killed during the unrest—a figure human rights groups estimate at over 3,000 deaths under a week-long internet blackout.

Iranian schools are set to reopen Sunday, media reported, following a one-week closure as the country was gripped by protests.

"Schools in Tehran and other cities which were announced closed since January 10 will be resumed from tomorrow (Sunday)," the ISNA news agency said, adding that university exams that had been postponed would be held on January 24.

Earlier today, Iran's supreme leader said Saturday that authorities "must break the back of the seditionists", whom he accused of killing thousands during the wave of protests in the country.

The demonstrations were sparked by anger over economic hardship that exploded into the biggest protests against the Islamic republic in more than three years.

But demonstrations have subsided after the crackdown – according to rights groups – left thousands of people dead under an internet blackout that has lasted more than a week.

Authorities have said demonstrations they condemn as "riots" had been controlled and calm returned, with state-aligned media reporting thousands of arrests.

"By God's grace, the Iranian nation must break the back of the seditionists just as it broke the back of the sedition," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told supporters during a televised address.

"We do not intend to lead the country to war, but we will not spare domestic criminals," he added, saying "international criminals" were "worse".

He added that "agents... murdered a few thousand people. They murdered some with the utmost inhumanity, meaning pure savagery" -- seemingly his first admission that thousands had died.

Iranian authorities have blamed the latest wave of demonstrations on arch-foes the United States and ‘Israel’, saying they fuelled a "terrorist operation" that hijacked peaceful protests over the economy.

Trump, who backed and joined ‘Israel's’ 12-day war against Iran in June, had repeatedly threatened new military action against Tehran if protesters were killed.

“American conspiracy”

Khamenei on Saturday lashed out at Trump, accusing him of being "guilty for the casualties, damages and accusations he has levelled against the Iranian nation".

"This was an American conspiracy," he said, adding that "America's goal is to swallow Iran... the goal is to put Iran back under military, political and economic domination".

While Washington has appeared to have stepped back, the US president has said he has not ruled out military options and made clear he was keeping a close eye on whether any protesters were executed.

Trump wrote on Friday on his Truth Social platform that Iran had called off the executions of hundreds of protesters and said to the clerical state: "Thank you!"

Asked on state TV about Trump's comment, Tehran prosecutor Ali Salehi said the US president "always talks a lot of nonsense" and that the government's response had been "firm, dissuasive and swift" with many cases leading to indictments and sent to court.