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21-01-2026
TEHRAN: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has acknowledged that “several thousands” of Iranians have been killed since protests started in late December among shopkeepers in downtown Tehran, before gradually spreading to big and small cities.
That confirmation is unusual because Khamenei has typically avoided commenting on death tolls during previous protests in Iran over the years but there are stark contrasts in the narratives provided by the Iranian state, foreign-based opposition, and United States President Donald Trump over exactly what has happened during the unrest, and what could be coming next.
The protests started over economic grievances in business and trade districts of the capital city on December 28, and morphed into nationwide expressions of anger and frustration at the political establishment over the days that followed.
The nights of January 8 and January 9 were by far the deadliest, according to state officials and media, as well as foreign-based outlets and eyewitness accounts on the ground.
Abbas Masjedi Arani, the head of Iran’s medical examiner authority, told state media that many of the casualties were shot in the chest or the head from close range or from rooftops with the aim of inflicting mortal wounds, while others were stabbed to death. State outlets said most protesters were young Iranians, many in their 20s.
Iranian authorities have fully cut off access on the night of January 8, as well as mobile communications, so it was not even possible to call rescue services in cases of emergency.
The unprecedented internet blackout began to gradually scale back on Sunday after nearly two weeks, but most of the country’s 90-million-strong population remain in limbo amid uncertainty over what the future could hold.
Local calls, SMS text messages and outgoing international phone calls have been restored over recent days. A local intranet that offers some limited services is operational.
The protests on the streets have now largely died down, with thousands of heavily armed security forces setting up patrols and checkpoints across the country, especially at flashpoints like the Grand Bazaar in Tehran.
The distribution of videos of the protests outside of Iran has been rare amid the digital blackout, with only a minority of Iranians able to leave the country or connect to Starlink satellite internet that bypasses the government’s internet restrictions.
What does the state say?
Iranian officials, from political to military and judicial leaders, have emphasized on a daily basis that the US and Israel have been behind the protests, accusing the foreign powers of arming and funding the opposition.
Khamenei, Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, said that Trump was a “criminal” for directly involving himself in the unrest numerous times.
According to Iranian government, armed and trained “terrorists”, not state forces, were directly responsible for the killings of thousands during the protests. They claim that people acting on behalf of the US and Israel shot and stabbed people to derail peaceful demonstrations.
Judiciary officials have stressed that those who took part in “riots” will face swift punishments without any mercy shown. The Supreme Court and the general prosecutor’s office announced on Sunday that they had formed a joint workgroup to expedite protest-related cases.
Foreign-based monitors and Iranians abroad who are opposed to the Iranian establishment maintain that state forces killed protesters in huge numbers. (Int’l News Desk)
