Anti-regime protests in Iran

Extracted Attributes

• Start Date

  2025-12-28

• Key Locations

  Tehran (Grand Bazaar), Shiraz, Qeshm Island, Zanjan, and Hamadan

• Primary Causes

  Economic hardship, inflation, currency depreciation, and political discontent

• Government Tactics

  Internet blackout, live ammunition use, mass arrests, and state censorship

• Estimated Casualties

  Between 12,000 and 30,000 deaths reported by January 16, 2026

• Technological Countermeasures

  Starlink satellite internet

Timeline

• Protests erupt in Tehran and multiple cities over the collapse of the rial and economic crisis. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-12-28

• Protests expand to the Grand Bazaar in Tehran; demonstrators chant slogans against the Supreme Leader. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2025-12-29

• Iranian government imposes a nationwide internet and telephone blackout; Reza Pahlavi calls for unified protests. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2026-01-08

• Millions of people take to the streets across all 31 Iranian provinces. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2026-01-09

• Reports indicate at least 2,000 protesters killed in a 48-hour period as security forces use live ammunition. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2026-01-10

• Death toll estimates reach 12,000; HRANA reports over 18,000 arrests. (Source: CNN)

  2026-01-13

• Reports from CBN indicate the total death toll from the crackdown may have reached 30,000. (Source: Wikipedia)

  2026-01-16

2025–2026 Iranian protests

Beginning on 28 December 2025, demonstrations erupted across multiple cities in Iran amid nationwide unrest against the Islamic Republic government and a deepening economic crisis. The events have been described as the largest uprising since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The ensuing crackdown, carried out under Ali Khamenei's direct order for live fire on protesters, resulted in massacres that left tens of thousands of protesters dead, making them some of the largest massacres in modern Iranian history. Initially sparked by frustration over record-high inflation, food prices, and currency depreciation, the protests quickly evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the current regime. Beginning with the bazaari (shopkeepers and merchants) in Tehran's Grand Bazaar and later university students, the demonstrations soon spread not only to major cities but also small settlements chanting anti-government slogans and destroying symbols of the government and the IRGC. Although largely leaderless, the protests escalated on 8 January following the call for unified protests by Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran and the subsequent call for a general strike by the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan. Pahlavi has called for a peaceful transition and a referendum to decide Iran's future political system. The Iranian government has cut off Internet access and telephone services in an attempt to prevent protesters from organising. It has accused the United States and Israel of fuelling the protests, which analysts suggest may be a tactic to increase security forces' willingness to kill protesters. As of 9 January, millions took to the streets in protests across all 31 provinces. By 10 January 2026, Iran International reported that at least 2,000 protesters had been killed nationwide over the previous 48 hours amid the internet blackout, as Iranian security forces escalated their use of live ammunition against demonstrators. Hospitals in Tehran and Shiraz were reported to be overwhelmed by injured protesters, many suffering gunshot wounds. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson confirmed security forces fired on protesters, raising international concern over human rights. In addition, thousands were arrested during the violent crackdown. Despite the blackout, on 10 January 2026, The Guardian documented multiple reports of security forces opening fire on demonstrations, with one eyewitness stating they saw "hundreds of bodies" across Tehran. On 11 January, Time reported that an expatriate group of academics and professionals estimated the death toll at 6,000, based on reports from hospitals, without including bodies taken directly to morgues rather than hospitals. On 13 January, Iran International reported that at least 12,000 had been killed; CBS News reported on the same day that activist groups in Iran estimated at least 12,000 deaths and possibly as many as 20,000. On 16 January, CBN stated that reports indicate the death toll is up to 30,000.

Web Search Results

• January 13, 2026: Iran protests updates - CNN

  Link Copied! Rich and poor are "hungry and angry" in Tehran, resident says From CNN's Billy Stockwell Image 15: Demonstrators gather in Tehran on January 8. Demonstrators gather in Tehran on January 8. Getty Images Anti-regime protests in the Iranian capital, Tehran, have divided the city in recent days, a resident told CNN on Tuesday, with some people fleeing amid the deadly unrest while others race home after work to get changed before taking to the streets. The resident, who asked to remain anonymous due to security concerns, told CNN that the daytime is eerily quiet before protests resume at night. “You’ll speak to people working in the coffee shops and they’ll say they finish their shifts at 6, then go home, change and take to the streets,” the source said. [...] From CNN's Max Saltman At least 2,403 protesters have been killed in Iran since anti-government demonstrations began in late December, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). The total includes 12 protesters under the age of 18, HRANA’s spokesperson confirmed to CNN. HRANA also reported at least 18,137 arrests since late December in its latest update. The new total marks another significant increase in HRANA’s estimated death toll, up from at least 1,850 reported earlier on Tuesday. CNN is unable to independently confirm HRANA’s figures, which the organization says are based on cases it can identify and verify. Given the ongoing internet blackout in Iran, it is possible the true toll is much higher. Link Copied! [...] _CNN’s Isobel Yeung spoke to a relative of Erfan Soltani, who may be executed on Wednesday._ Image 6: 116346_IranianVoices_Clean thumb vrtc.jpg Video Ad Feedback Iranian protester Erfan Soltani faces execution 26-year-old Erfan Soltani is believed to be the first anti-regime protester in the latest Iranian uprising to reportedly be given the death sentence, according to human rights organizations. CNN's Isobel Yeung spoke to his relative. 02:23 • Source: CNN Iranian protester Erfan Soltani faces execution 02:23 _CNN’s Monica Haider, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Kevin Liptak, Max Saltman, and Nechirvan Mando, Catherine Nicholls, Jomana Karadsheh and Florence Davey-Attlee contributed reporting._ Link Copied!

• 2025–2026 Iranian protests - Wikipedia

  Initially sparked by frustration over record-high inflation, food prices, and currency depreciation, the protests quickly evolved into a broader movement demanding an end to the current regime. Beginning with the bazaari (shopkeepers and merchants) in Tehran's Grand Bazaar and later university students, the demonstrations soon spread not only to major cities but also small settlements chanting anti-government slogans and destroying symbols of the government and the IRGC. Although largely leaderless, the protests escalated on 8 January following the call for unified protests by Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran and the subsequent call for a general strike by the Komala Party of Iranian Kurdistan. Pahlavi has called for a peaceful transition and a referendum to decide Iran's future [...] The protests continued into their second day on 29 December and expanded across various parts of Tehran, including the Grand Bazaar. Merchants and shopkeepers closed their businesses and gathered in the streets to protest the unprecedented collapse of the rial and sharp increases in currency and gold prices. Protesters voiced opposition to economic conditions and government management, citing declining purchasing power and rising living costs. Videos shared online showed continued gatherings around Lalehzar, Chaharsouq, and Jomhuri Street, with participants largely non-violent while conveying critical messages toward government economic policies. The merchants at the Grand Bazaar in Tehran joined the electronic goods shopkeepers who had started the protests the previous day. [...] Footage verified by independent sources showed crowds at malls near Tehran's Grand Bazaar chanting "freedom" (Persian: آزادی, romanised: zdi). Law enforcement forces used tear gas to disperse demonstrators outside the Alaeddin Shopping Centre. Protests also spread to other cities in Iran. On the night of 29 December 2025, protests were reported in several regions across Iran, including Qeshm in the south, and Zanjan and Hamadan in the north. Demonstrators chanted slogans critical of the supreme leader, including "Death to the Dictator" on Qeshm Island and "Seyyed Ali [Khamenei] will be toppled this year" in Zanjan. A video and photo of an unidentified protester went viral, who defiantly sat in the middle of the Jomhuri Eslami Street at Tehran and refused to move for motorbike security

• Iran protests appear increasingly smothered after internet outage ...

  Politics Arts Nation World Economy Science Health Education Education ## Support PBS News Your generous monthly contribution— or whatever you can give—will help secure our future. #### Get news alerts from PBS News ##### Turn on desktop notifications? Anti-government protests continue in Iran Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Jon Gambrell, Associated Press Leave your feedback # Iran protests appear increasingly smothered after internet outage and regime's crackdown DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The nationwide protests challenging Iran's theocracy appeared increasingly smothered Thursday, a week after authorities shut the country off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that activists say has killed at least 2,637 people. [...] ## Iran protests spark reaction abroad Videos of demonstrations have stopped coming out of Iran, likely signaling the slowdown of their pace under the heavy security force presence in major cities. In the meantime, protests against Iran have been held around the world as global attention has focused on the crackdown. Trump made a series of statements that left unclear what action, if any, the U.S. would take. A day after threatening action, he said Wednesday that he had it on good authority that the executions would be halted. On Thursday, he hailed as "good news" reports that a protester's death sentence had been lifted. [...] "Since Jan. 8, we saw a full-fledged war, and anybody who was in the gathering since then is a criminal," said Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, according to a report Wednesday from the judiciary's Mizan news agency. Iranian state media broadcast a roster of damage from the protests, which it called a "terrorist operation," including damage to hundreds of stores and public buildings, scores of cars and ambulances and several "heritage sites," including mosques and shrines. China's foreign ministry said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Chinese counterpart that the situation in the country was now stable.

• Briefing on Protests in Iran : What's In Blue - Security Council Report

  The nationwide protests, which analysts have described as the most serious challenge to the Iranian government since the 1979 revolution that brought it to power, began on 28 December 2025 after the value of the Iranian rial collapsed to a record low. The protests started in Tehran and initially focused on economic issues, including inflation, widespread unemployment, and low wages, before turning into violent anti-government demonstrations and spreading throughout the country. [...] After initial attempts by the government to address the protesters’ economic concerns failed to quell the demonstrations, Iranian security forces appear to have ramped up their already violent crackdown on the protests. Although Iranian authorities imposed a nationwide telecommunications blackout on 8 January, there have been media reports referring to witness accounts of government forces firing on crowds indiscriminately, victims arriving at hospitals with close-range gunshot wounds, and the use of tear gas to disperse protesters. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), a press association founded by Iranian human rights activists, has reported that at least 2,615 people have been killed during the protests, while also noting that the full extent of the violence and repression

• Iran protests: Eyewitnesses describe deadly crackdown across country

  One of the largest nationwide anti-government protests took place on Thursday, the twelfth night of demonstrations. Many people appear to have joined the protests on Thursday and Friday after calls from Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran who was overthrown in the 1979 Islamic revolution. The following day, Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei said: "The Islamic Republic will not back down." It appears that the worst bloodshed occurred after that warning as security forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps take their orders from him. Iranian authorities accused the US and Israel of fomenting trouble and condemned "terrorist actions", state media reported. Mortuary videos shows violent government crackdown in Iran