Iran in Crisis
In this week’s update, read a dispatch from the frontlines of the Iranian protests.
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Iran in Crisis
In this week’s update, read a dispatch from the frontlines of the Iranian protests.
Welcome to IWPR’s Frontline Update, your go-to source to hear from journalists and local voices at the front lines of conflict.
THE BIG PICTURE
The mass protests in Iran, with thousands killed in a regime crackdown, are presenting the greatest challenge to the authorities in many years.
As an internet blackout severely restricts the media’s ability to report from within the country, we hear a first-hand account from a protestor in Tehran.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINE
“The city feels as if a pall of death has been cast over it,” wrote the man, who asked to stay anonymous for his own security.
He described a joyous atmosphere when he joined the protests on January 8, with crowds of young and old, men and women, religious and secular all mixed together. Many chanted for the fall of the regime, others for freedom, while simply walked along in silence and solidarity.
“Being together like this in the street was very beautiful. Together we were magnificent and dignified. Shoulder to shoulder, we moved forward, believing in our steps,” he wrote.
“Morale was excellent. Then they started killing people.”
He described how plainclothes agents roamed the city, armed with pistols and Kalashnikovs, targeting ordinary people.
“A friend saw with his own eyes how agents collected the bodies of those killed in eastern Tehran and piled them all together in the middle of the square, without even putting them in body bags. The dead were still in their bloody clothes; it was as if they just wanted to clear them from the street so traffic could pass. A few people tried to approach the bodies, and they were shot dead on the spot.”
WHY IT MATTERS
The nation-wide protests erupted in response to the collapse of Iran’s national currency, following the impact of last summer’s 12-day war with Israel as well as UN sanctions reintroduced in September 2024 that added to the huge burden of ongoing US measures.
This dire economic situation has only worsened in recent weeks.
But the demonstrations were also spurred by widespread frustration at the regime’s repressive social and political policies, and the bloody response has only served to further deepen dissent.
“The government has mobilised against the people and unleashed a bloodbath,” the Tehran protestor wrote. “It has never been like this before.”
THE BOTTOM LINE
Speaking up in the face of repression takes extraordinary bravery, and the message of the courageous people of Iran must be heard. Their voices matter, their lives matter, and despite media repression their fight for dignity, freedom and justice still resonates around the world.
IWPR stands in solidarity with those seeking freedom and a future in which their rights, dreams and humanity are fully respected.
