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Protests in Iran, day 21: Iranian suffering does not fit into the left’s agenda

By: Arnt Jensvoll   18. January 2026, 07:00

The silence in Iranian streets is only disturbed by heavily armed soldiers. In Tehran, Khamenei is reported to have called Trump a criminal and admitted that many thousands of protesters have been killed. The information coming out of “concentration camp Iran” is severely limited. Very little can be confirmed, and one must always bear in mind that it could be worse. The information may also be exaggerated, it may be wishful thinking.

The 21st day of the uprising was characterised by extreme repression from the regime, but sporadic resistance, nocturnal actions, and limited protests are still reported from several cities. Security forces are conducting door-to-door raids and the internet blackout, which began on 8 January, is almost total and looks set to become permanent.

Silence in the streets is broken only by boot trampling

– Khamenei: “We crushed the rebels. The day we succeeded in putting down the rebellion will be remembered as a day of celebration for many years to come.” He has become so bold that he unashamedly calls the massacre of tens of thousands of Iranians a “day of celebration”.

The US has reportedly deployed six strategic bombers on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, half of the total US fleet. A large number of refuelling aircraft are stationed in the region. This isn’t sending signals, it’s giving decision-makers real options for action. They are waiting for the right moment. America’s allies in the region should be prepared to protect themselves against Iranian retaliation.

The predictions are that the Americans will attack the regime’s leadership and the Revolutionary Guard, not the Iranian army. They hope that the army will overthrow the imams and protect the institutions from chaos after the attack. Unconfirmed rumours say that the Americans are in dialogue with middle-ranking members of the Iranian army about what will happen after the collapse of the regime.

Funerals turn into protest arenas

The death toll is still unclear due to the blackout, and estimates vary:

    • Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has confirmed 2,900 killed (including protesters, civilians and some security personnel)

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  • Iran International and leaked internal documents estimate up to 12,000 killed on the peak days of 8 to 10 January.
  • CBS and opposition sources estimate 20,000 to 30,000 since the start.
  • </ulAli Khamenei publicly admitted on 16-17 January that “thousands” have been killed, but blamed the US and Israel for orchestrating “terrorist protests”. Such a public acknowledgement of the scale is a rarity.Opposition groups are still reporting casualties, 32 new ones on 17 January. There are nocturnal clashes, self-organised actions and limited protests. Funerals often evolve into protest arenas. The regime is not in full control – but fear of reprisals is keeping people in.

    – The silence in the streets is only broken by the regime’s forces, who go door-to-door to arrest “US-backed rebels” in their homes “to bring them to justice”. Iranian state television also showed forced confessions from those arrested.

    Describing Iran as a giant concentration camp has a real basis in the fact that the regime has imposed totalitarian control:

    • Security forces (IRGC, Basij) are searching homes and businesses to identify protesters, demanding CCTV footage and arresting people with pictures of the protests on their phones (reported by Iran International and Wikipedia updates).
    • The regime jams Starlink signals (with military electronics, possibly Russian) and conducts raids to seize terminals. Owning one is illegal and can lead to charges of espionage or “corruption on earth”, which is punishable by death. This is confirmed by NYT, Guardian and Filterwatch.
    • The Filterwatch report of 16-17 January confirms that the regime is planning permanent digital isolation. Global internet will be a privilege for the authorities. Security-cleared personnel will have filtered access. The rest will be restricted to a national intranet.

    On 8 January, Iran shut down its internet and mobile phone network. On 16 January, several sources reported that Iran plans to keep the network closed at least until the end of March.

    – Iran plans to keep the internet shut down throughout the country until at least the end of March… that’s over two months of total blackout, and the reason is frightening. They are waiting until after the Iranian New Year and after 40 days of mourning for murdered protesters. They have timed this to hide what they are doing. Think of all the things we don’t know because no one can document or share them. It’s terrifying.

    The next day, 17 January, reports emerged, allegedly based on a report from the organisation Filterwatch, that Iran plans to never again allow public access to the internet.

    – A secret plan is being drawn up to make the international internet a government privilege. Only the regime’s handpicked will be allowed access. Iranians with security clearance will be able to surf a filtered version of the global web. State media and government spokespeople have signalled that this is a permanent change.

    The protests have alarmed the regime, convincing it that public access to the internet jeopardises its position of power and will therefore impose “absolute digital isolation”.

    Now the regime’s men are driving around with scanners to detect WiFi signals from Starlink routers.

    Starlink is illegal in Iran. Simply switching on Starlink can land you behind bars for up to two years. The authorities confiscate satellite dishes and call it “security”. People recognise the risk – but take it anyway.

    – Isn’t it remarkable that Al Jazeera is the only international news channel broadcasting live from Tehran while the internet is down and there is barely any electricity? Could it have anything to do with Al Jazeera amplifying the regime’s propaganda?

    Open Source Intel writes about an employee at the Behesht e Sakineh cemetery who claims that thousands of unidentified bodies were brought in before the weekend. The employees were ordered to put them in mass graves, but refused. They documented the dead by photographing their faces in groups of ten to allow families to identify them.

    @Osint613, Open Source Intel, is not considered a particularly neutral source by fact-checkers. The account has been praised by pro-Israeli users for “cutting through the propaganda”, but criticised for acting as an unofficial conduit for Israeli military intelligence without going through verification.

    – I am a woman from a small village in northern Iran. Imprisoned for protesting. Beaten for showing my hair. Expelled from parliament for exposing corruption. Forced into exile. My sister was shown on state television for publicly rejecting me. My brother was imprisoned. My mother was interrogated to prevent her from expressing love for me. Assassins were sent to New York three times to kill me. And now I will sit next to them in the UN Security Council.

    Thank you for finally giving me a seat so that I can criticise the regime and the UN leadership that continues to legitimise it. Here is my speech to the UN Security Council:

    – I am an Iranian university professor. I was in Iran until last week and witnessed the uprising of the Iranian people. What is happening is a revolution born of desperation and courage. I fully support the speeches of Masih Alinejad and Ahmad Batebi at the UN Security Council. All allegations made by the Iranian regime are nothing more than deliberate, systematic lies to cover up crimes.

    A former member of the British Parliament, Bill Rammell, says Iranian authorities may have used “toxic chemical agents” against the protesters, leading to some casualties a few days later. He refers to a “credible report” he has reviewed.

    Bill Rammell’s concerns are confirmed by journalist Behnam Gholipour, among others, while others argue that this is not the case:

    – The Islamic terror regime is using unidentified chemical agents against protesters in Tehran and Mashhad. Paralysing gases temporarily freeze individuals, preventing them from moving or escaping.

    Iran’s Chief Justice is not backing down:

    – We will quickly convict the “terrorists” and punish them. It is of utmost importance that the punishment is meted out quickly.

    A mother finds the body of her child in the pile of victims of the Islamic regime’s security forces:

    An Iranian court has sentenced popular singer Amir Hossein Maghsoudloo, known as Tataloo, to death for blasphemy.

    – Iranian schoolchildren aged 8 to 13 lined up with handcuffs and bags over their heads. The reason is that they were chanting slogans against the regime.


    Iranians are still asking the question: Why is the left – the highest-profile pro-Gaza voices – silent on Iran? The answer is simple: because the truth exposes the lie. Because recognising Iran would destroy their ideological fantasy world: the Islamic Republic is not a victim of Western imperialism. The Iranian people don’t fit their narrative. Hamas does. Islamic violence against Israelis can be recast as resistance, but Islamic violence against Iranians reveals the truth.

    No urgent protests at Western universities, no hashtags, no declarations of solidarity, no megaphones, no tears. Iranian suffering does not fit into the left’s agenda. They shout “Free Palestine”, but they will never say “Free Iran”. That would require them to recognise that Islam is not liberation – it is domination.

    – Why do “Free Palestine” activists ignore Iran? If they cared about the lives of Palestinians, they would be shouting “Free Iran”. When the regime that controls Iran falls, so does Hamas. When the regime falls, so does Hezbollah. When the regime falls, the people of Iran will be liberated.

    – Our friend’s wounded father did not receive treatment at the hospital and died on a stretcher in the hallway. A young girl who had been shot was found the next day under a car where she had sought shelter in fear and bled to death. A young man who worked in our local supermarket lost his eye. The mercenaries started shooting at us and we ran into an alley and saw a young man who had been shot in the neck. He gasped for air in front of our eyes and died. There was nothing we could do. We have a friend who is a nurse. She told us that the regime executes the wounded in the hospital.

    Believe me, 12,000 is a joke compared to the scale of what we have seen and heard these few days.

    – Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi normally has 90 million views on Instagram. When Iran shut down the internet, he lost 30 million viewers. That means 30 million Iranians are watching him. The blackout has disproved that he “doesn’t represent Iranians”.

    – It is reported that Arfan Soltani – the first protester to be arrested during the unrest – was executed as scheduled on 13 January.

    The protests in Iran, day 20: Paying hired soldiers to shoot Iranians, because Iranians refuse to shoot Iranians

     

     

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