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Witnesses told Iran International that a well-known Iranian taekwondo athlete and coach was killed during protests earlier this month after trying to help wounded demonstrators.
The man, identified as Afshin Miarkiani, was killed on the evening of Jan. 8.
According to the witnesses, security forces noticed him as he tried to assist injured protesters and then shot him from behind. He died at the scene.
An Iranian from Cyprus told Iran International that the violence in Iran should be treated as a global issue, urging governments to take steps beyond statements and condemnations.
Peyman said the scale of the bloodshed had turned the crisis into what he called a confrontation with freedom itself.
“This is not only about our country anymore, and it is a declaration of war on freedom,” he said.
He criticized symbolic actions by foreign governments as inadequate. “Statements and condemnations do not help.”
An Iranian woman calling Iran International from the Netherlands said pressure and threats against critics extend beyond Iran’s borders, warning that fear has become systematic and long-lasting for those who speak out.
Mira said she had lived for years under surveillance and intimidation in Iran and now faces similar pressure abroad because of her public criticism.
“These fears are not imagined, and they have been placed inside us in a systematic way,” she said.
She urged international media and governments to move beyond documenting testimony.
“Do not just record people’s voices, and take them seriously,” she said.
A former senior Iranian diplomat said the risk of war with the United States is now greater than the chance of negotiations, warning that Iran has effectively lost its window for talks.
Qassem Mohabbali, a former director general for the Middle East and North Africa at Iran’s foreign ministry, said the current situation pointed toward a major confrontation rather than dialogue.
“At the moment, Iran has practically lost the opportunity to negotiate. The chance of war is much higher than the chance of talks,” he said in an interview with the Iranian news outlet Eghtesadnews.
Mohabbali said the United States had signaled it could consider a solution if Iran showed readiness to negotiate, but that Tehran had ruled out talks on issues such as uranium enrichment, its missile program and allied armed groups.
He said Washington had turned to what he described as “gunboat diplomacy,” pointing to the deployment of aircraft carriers in regional waters.
Mohabbali said regional countries could play a role but were not decisive, adding that they were worried about being drawn into a wider conflict.
He said a formal signal of readiness for political steps, including talks on enrichment, missiles and regional security, could still help prevent war.
Witnesses told Iran International that the body of a 50-year-old man who went missing during protests in central Iran was hard to identify because of severe head injuries, and that he was buried quickly under orders from authorities without a public funeral.
The man, identified as Nasser Movahednia, disappeared on the evening of Jan. 8 after joining protests in the town of Fooladshahr, near the central Iranian city of Isfahan, the outlet said, citing eyewitnesses.
According to the witnesses, security forces fired toward the group he was with, injuring one of his brothers, who returned home that night. Mohedenia did not return and was reported missing.
The witnesses said his family searched for him for a week without receiving any information, until they were asked on Jan. 14 to go to a morgue to identify bodies.
They said his body was difficult to recognize because of severe blows to the head.
The witnesses said authorities handed over his body the next morning and ordered that it be buried quickly without a funeral or public ceremony.
