Iran’s national police chief Ahmadreza Radan urged protestors he described as “misled” during the nationwide uprising to surrender within three days, saying those who do so would receive a significant reduction in punishment.
Radan also said authorities would continue to pursue those involved in recent protests, using language that labeled them as “rioters” and “terrorists.”
“We promised the people that we would pursue the rioters and terrorists to the last person,” Radan said.
He said many had already been detained and claimed they had confessed.
Iran’s second-largest mobile phone operator removed its chief executive amid a dispute over enforcement of the government’s internet blackout during widespread protests.
MTN Irancell failed to promptly enforce authorities’ shutdown orders as demonstrations spread, Iranian media reported.
Alireza Rafiei was dismissed after about a year in the job because he “disobeyed orders from security bodies and violated issued regulations under crisis conditions” to restrict internet access during the uprising, IRGC-linked Fars news agency said.
The move could signal “defections at the most senior levels” of the government, Mehdi Saremifar, a science and technology journalist, told Iran International.
The dismissal followed remarks by MP Hamid Rasaei, who criticized what he described as a delay in shutting down the internet during a parliament session on Monday.
Iran cut off communications nationwide on January 8 without warning as calls intensified for anti-government protests across the country.
“While it was clear that riots were about to start and despite a request by the supreme national security council, why was the Internet shut down with delay and at 10:00 pm?” Rasaei said. “If some people had not refused, the losses and casualties would not have reached this level.”
Iran’s authorities have faced sustained criticism from activists, rights groups and some foreign governments for cutting or throttling internet access during protests, a tactic critics say hampers organizing, documentation of abuses and communication with the outside world.
Officials have framed restrictions as necessary for security and public order, while critics say shutdowns isolate communities and heighten risks for protesters during periods of violence and mass arrests.
On Monday, internet monitor NetBlocks said Iran’s nationwide blackout has entered its twelfth day, with national connectivity still at minimal levels.
“In recent days, the filternet has occasionally allowed messages through, suggesting that the regime is testing a more heavily filtered intranet,” NetBlocks added.
Iranian lawmakers on Monday likened US President Donald Trump to the biblical Pharaoh and praised Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as Moses, in rhetoric aired during a parliamentary session amid heightened tensions with Washington.
In a statement read aloud in Iran’s parliament, lawmakers said Khamenei would “make Trump and his allies taste humiliation.”
Addressing Trump directly, the statement said Iran’s leader would “drown you in the sea of the anger of believers and the oppressed of the world, to serve as a lesson for the world of arrogance.”
More than 20 days into protests across Iran which have been largely quelled in the deadliest violence in decades, accounts from inside the country sent to Iran International describe a widening crackdown.
The internet remains largely cut, de facto curfews persist in several cities, authorities continue to pressure families of slain protestors while security deployments deepen in hospitals and morgues.
The protests began on December 28 and have continued despite sweeping security measures, according to witnesses and reports gathered from multiple cities across the country.
NetBlocks, an internet monitoring group, said on Monday that Iran’s nationwide internet blackout had entered its 12th day, with international connectivity still minimal. Authorities appear to be testing a heavily filtered domestic intranet that intermittently allows limited messaging, NetBlocks said.
Iranian authorities have not publicly detailed the scope or duration of the restrictions, which activists say have severely limited communication, emergency services and independent verification of events.
A small aircraft flies over the city while carrying a banner reading "Free Iran," as part of demonstrations supporting nationwide protests in Iran, in Los Angeles, California, January 18, 2026.
Judiciary warns of swift punishment
On Monday, judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei described protesters as “rioters and troublemakers” and said cases linked to unrest would be handled rapidly.
“Swift and timely implementation of punishment, without delay, is one of the elements of deterrence,” Ejei said, according to state media, adding that no delay would be tolerated in pursuing protest-related cases.
Under Iranian law, some charges related to unrest – such as moharebeh (enmity against God) can carry severe penalties, including the death sentence.
Accounts received by Iran International suggest the crackdown has extended beyond the streets into hospitals, emergency care and the handling of bodies.
Witnesses in several cities said security forces entered hospitals, removed injured protesters and restricted treatment. One doctor in the northern city of Rasht told Iran International that security forces took wounded protesters from a hospital and transferred blood supplies to a military facility.
Similar reports from other cities described morgues filling rapidly and security forces maintaining a visible presence around medical centers.
Families of those killed said they faced pressure when seeking information about bodies or burial arrangements, including financial demands and restrictions on funerals.
Several accounts said ambulances failed to reach areas where shootings occurred, with some witnesses saying phone networks were down and emergency calls could not be placed.
Others said wounded protesters bled to death after taking shelter in nearby buildings because hospitals refused to admit them or because transport was unavailable.
Witnesses described widespread use of live ammunition and pellet guns in cities including Karaj, Rasht, Shiraz and parts of Tehran province.
In Karaj, residents said security forces used tactical withdrawals to funnel large crowds into enclosed areas before opening fire. In Rasht, witnesses said protesters were trapped amid smoke and flames before being shot. No specific dates were mentioned in these accounts.
Reports from multiple cities indicated that informal curfews were in effect on Sunday, with armed patrols, checkpoints, phone searches and restrictions on nighttime movement. Residents said leaving homes after certain hours could lead to threats or detention.
Detentions and holding sites
Witnesses also reported large numbers of arrests, with some detainees held in non-prison facilities such as government buildings, camps or utility compounds.
In the northern city of Gorgan, one resident said dozens of bodies were temporarily held at a camp, while detainees were taken to a nearby prison quarantine area. Similar accounts from Qom and Isfahan described protesters being held in improvised locations.
Tight controls on burials
Accounts described families being warned to accept official narratives about the deaths of relatives or face delays in retrieving bodies. Some said burials were conducted at night with limits on attendance, while others described threats of unmarked or collective burials.
Witnesses also reported verbal abuse by security personnel at burial sites and forensic facilities.
International reaction
The protests have prompted demonstrations by Iranian communities abroad, including in Europe, Asia and Oceania with massive rallies held in the US, UK and Canada.
Several European countries have summoned Iranian ambassadors in recent weeks, while senior officials in Germany and other states have made unusually blunt statements criticizing Tehran’s handling of the unrest.
Iranian officials have repeatedly blamed foreign powers, including the United States and Israel, for the protests, accusations denied by Western governments.
With internet access still largely cut and independent journalists unable to operate freely, the full scale of the violence remains unclear.
Iran International continues to receive a high volume of consistent eyewitness accounts from across the country, but verification remains difficult due to the communications blackout and security restrictions.
For many Iranians, witnesses said, the combination of street violence, disrupted medical care and pressure on families has turned daily life into what they described as an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty more than three weeks after the protests began.
Belgian-Iranian lawmaker Darya Safai called on the international community to take urgent action over the situation in Iran, saying that one of the largest massacres in history had taken place.
“In just three days, more than 20,000 people were killed,” Safai wrote on X.
“We need you to act now,” she said, describing the moment as a struggle between what she called light and darkness.
Iran’s foreign minister will not attend the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos this year, the forum said on Monday, citing the recent killing of civilians in Iran.
“Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,” the WEF said in a post on X.
The decision followed mounting pressure from advocacy groups and political figures who argued that Tehran should not be given a global platform amid the crackdown.
The US-based group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) had urged the forum to rescind its invitation to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who had been listed as a speaker, and said it had written to WEF organizers calling for the move.
US Senator Lindsey Graham also criticized the invitation in a post on X, calling it “a worse message” to protesters in Iran and questioning the forum’s judgment.
