For a second week, demonstrators have taken to the streets across Iran, defying a severe and escalating crackdown by the country's security forces. The protests, which began on 28 December over economic grievances, have rapidly evolved into a direct political challenge to the ruling theocracy, with chants against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Blackout and Brutality: A Regime's Response
In a move to isolate the movement, authorities imposed a sweeping internet and mobile communications shutdown on Thursday. This blackout has severely hampered the ability of international media to gauge the scale of the demonstrations, described as the most significant in recent years. However, sporadic videos and messages from activists using systems like Starlink paint a picture of widespread unrest and a heavy-handed official response.
Activists on the ground report security forces firing live ammunition at crowds, with one protester in Tehran claiming to have seen "hundreds of bodies." The US-based Human Rights Activist News agency states that at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 detained. Nobel laureate Shirin Ebadi warned that the communications blackout could provide cover for security forces to commit a "massacre."
International Reactions and Regime Rhetoric
The international community has voiced support for the protesters. Former US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened intervention, stating on Friday that Iranian authorities were "in big trouble" and warning, "You better not start shooting, because we’ll start shooting too." EU states have also posted messages of solidarity.
In response, the Iranian regime has adopted increasingly confrontational rhetoric. Khamenei has blamed the United States for stirring dissent, labelling protesters as "vandals." The Iranian army issued a statement vowing to foil "the enemy's plots," declaring national security a "red line." State media has attempted to downplay the protests, portraying them as small disturbances while warning parents to keep children off the streets.
Defiance and Mobilisation for the Weekend
Despite the violent crackdown, defiance continues. Protesters marched in Tehran and Mashhad, Khamenei's hometown, where fires were lit in the streets. Exiled Reza Pahlavi, son of the former Shah, has called for further protests over the weekend, urging demonstrators to hoist the pre-1979 flag. He claims tens of thousands of security personnel have signalled a desire to defect.
Verified video from the Iran Human Rights group showed distressed families searching through bodies in a Tehran hospital, alleged to be slain protesters. Meanwhile, the Fars news agency aired what appeared to be forced confessions, a practice rights groups warn often precedes executions.
With the internet still largely offline, activists are desperately working to document the violence and momentum of the protests, imploring the world to keep watching as they face what they describe as worsening brutality from a regime under severe pressure.
