At least 12,000 people have been killed in Iran in the largest killing in the country's contemporary history, much of it carried out on January 8 and 9 during an ongoing internet shutdown, according to senior government and security sources speaking to Iran International.
It is the Islamic Republic as envisioned by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: no internet, no social media, hundreds of national and local newspapers shuttered, and mobile phones rendered largely useless.
I am writing this from Tehran after three days of trying to find a way to send it: things may get a lot worse before they get any better.
US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials amid the brutal crackdown on protesters, telling Iranians "help is on its way."
Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani responded to Donald Trump's Truth Social post that asked Iranians to save the names of their killers, saying, "We announce the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- Netanyahu."
Iran's historic Lion and Sun flag has had a resurgence with latest round of widespread protests after nearly half a century of absence from the country's official identity.
As much of the world celebrated the start of a new year, night fell hard on three Western towns where the final hours of 2025 and the dawn of 2026 were marked not by celebration, but deadly gunfire.
A video circulated by Iran’s state media to promote pro-government rallies has gained wide traction online, with social media users questioning its authenticity and pointing to apparent inconsistencies, reflecting broader public mistrust of official messaging.
Several foreign influencers supportive of the Islamic Republic have published content portraying life in Tehran as calm despite an escalating deadly crackdown on protests across the country amid an internet blackout.
Tehran on Monday conducted large pro-government rallies in several cities intended to counter the nationwide protests challenging its rule, in a strategy it has deployed against previous bouts of mass unrest ultimately crushed by deadly force.
As Iran steps up a deadly crackdown on nationwide demonstrations, some analysts warned that if US President Donald Trump does not act on his vow to protect protestors, the unrest he helped galvanize may be stamped out.
As Tehran faces its sharpest internal challenge since the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, the ruling elite’s ability to withstand sustained popular protests now rests not only on domestic coercion but increasingly on backing from Moscow.
As protests continue across Iran under a near-total internet shutdown, a viral clip showing a cleric calling for the Islamic Republic’s overthrow has fueled debate over the role of the clergy and broader shifts in public attitudes.
Iran International
Iran International
Iran International
Iran International
Iran International
Iran International
Institute for National Security Studies
Iran International
International Security and Law Analyst
Iran International
There is a cruel ritual in Iranian opposition politics: some voices abroad constantly interrogate the “purity” of activists inside—why they did not speak more sharply or endorse maximalist slogans, why survival itself looks insufficiently heroic.
The Iran projected on social media these days—brunch parties, rooftop concerts, fashion shows—is real, but only as a tiny fragment of the country’s reality, where most ordinary people struggle to make ends meet.
