Iranian security forces have killed at least 45 protesters, including eight minors, during a sweeping crackdown on demonstrations over economic hardship, the Norway-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said, as a nationwide internet blackout was reported by monitoring group NetBlocks amid new subsidy reforms.
IHR said the latest day of unrest was the deadliest of the 12-day movement, with 13 protesters confirmed killed. The organization’s director, Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, said in a statement that hundreds more have been wounded and over 2,000 arrested, warning that “the scope of crackdown is becoming more violent and more extensive every day.” The figures could not be independently verified.
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President Masoud Pezeshkian urged security forces to show “utmost restraint” and avoid “any violent or coercive behaviour,” calling for dialogue and engagement with demonstrators’ demands. Even as Pezeshkian appealed for calm, authorities have blamed “rioters” for the unrest, and the judiciary chief has vowed there would be “no leniency” in prosecuting those arrested.
Iran has experienced rolling protests and pockets of unrest across the country, with rights groups accusing security forces of firing on crowds. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said protests have erupted in 348 locations across all 31 provinces. The Kurdish-focused Hengaw rights group reported that a general strike call in Kurdish-populated western regions was widely observed in some 30 towns and cities, sharing footage of shuttered shops in Ilam, Kermanshah and Lorestan. Both groups also reported internet disruptions in the region.
HRANA circulated videos it said showed security forces using handguns against protesters in Kermanshah. IHR said a woman in the southwestern city of Abadan was shot directly in the eye during a demonstration. The reports could not be independently verified, but Amnesty International accused Iranian security forces of using “unlawful force,” adding that both protesters and bystanders have been killed and injured. Rights groups also alleged that authorities have raided hospitals to detain the wounded.
NetBlocks, an independent internet observatory, reported a nationwide internet blackout Wednesday as authorities rolled out subsidy reforms, a move that has compounded public anger over inflation and the plummeting value of the rial. The current wave began with a shutdown at Tehran’s bazaar on Dec. 28 after the currency hit record lows, and it has since spread to larger gatherings nationwide.
Symbols of state power have been targeted. In the southern province of Fars, protesters cheered as they pulled down a statue of slain Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, according to video verified by AFP. Slogans heard in multiple cities included “this is the final battle, Pahlavi will return” and “Seyyed Ali will be toppled,” referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the son of the shah ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, claimed turnout had been “unprecedented” in the latest protests and called for further mass demonstrations.
State media highlighted violence against security personnel. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that a police officer was stabbed to death west of Tehran “during efforts to control unrest.”
Universities have emerged as flashpoints once again, echoing the last major nationwide protests. Exams at Tehran’s Amir Kabir University were postponed for a week, the ISNA news agency reported. The current movement is the most significant since the 2022–2023 protests following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been detained for allegedly violating Iran’s mandatory dress code for women.
With tensions high and the internet curtailed, the scale of the crackdown remains difficult to assess in real time. Yet the breadth of the unrest—spanning all provinces, cutting across ethnic regions and striking at national icons—underscores the depth of anger over economic strain and political grievances confronting Iran’s clerical establishment.
Authorities have signaled a dual-track approach: Pezeshkian’s calls for restraint alongside hard-line vows of prosecution. Rights groups warn that without de-escalation and accountability, the toll is likely to rise, and the cycle of protest and repression could intensify.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
