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Protests in Iran, day 25: The massacre of Iranians is rooted in a deep conflict between Iran and Islam

By: Arnt Jensvoll   22. January 2026, 07:00
190130-N-PW716-1312 ATLANTIC OCEAN (Jan. 30, 2019) The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) transits the Atlantic Ocean during a strait transit exercise. Abraham Lincoln is underway conducting a composite training unit exercise with Carrier Strike Group (CSG) 12. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Clint Davis/Released)

As of the 25th day of the uprising, the regime has won the military phase and is focusing on punishing and normalising – it is probably betting on the attention waning. There is no new major flare-up of the protests, but fear, blackout and economic crisis and the hope of US/Israeli intervention maintain the tension. The situation can change at lightning speed if new triggers emerge.

We turn to an apostate Muslim, Imtiaz Mahmood, with his views on the people’s protests. First he asks why the Islamic regime is killing its own people and he starts with the short answer: They don’t see Iranians as their people. He then goes on to discuss what will happen when the Islamic regime falls: “It will be far bigger than most people realise. It will be a real ‘chop the head off the snake’ moment. It will destroy the worldview of the liberal left activists:

The mullahs’ biggest obstacle and worst enemy is the Iranians themselves

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– 1,400 years ago, the Muslims conquered Persia. They killed thousands of people and forced people to convert. Yet they failed to completely dominate the culture.

Islam is essentially Arabic culture, but the Iranians retained their customs and language. After a few hundred years, Iran was liberated from the Arab rulers, but Islam remained their religion.

47 years ago, Islamic clerics won the power struggle and became rulers themselves for the first time since Arab rule ended – most of them wearing black turbans, meaning they are descendants of Arabs (in the literal sense).

During these 47 years, they have systematically tried to transform Iranian culture into Islamic culture by brainwashing children from school age onwards. They have also tried to export their ideology to other countries. Their biggest obstacle and worst enemy has been the Iranians themselves. That’s why they see the Iranian people as their enemy: It is the people who stand against Allah.

Islamic ideology does not coexist with other ideologies; it seeks dominance. Many countries were forced to give up their identity. Iranians are still resisting. So when you see Iranians being massacred, you have to understand it as a deep conflict between Iran and Islam.

– When the ayatollahs fall, the entire political ecosystem they have supported will collapse along with them. It will instantly remove much of the false “legitimacy” that groups like Hamas have achieved in recent years. It will expose all the ties, funding routes, training links and ideological coordination that the IRGC has had with terrorist organisations throughout the region.

And it will delegitimise the modern “pro-Palestine” movement in the West because it’s not really about the Palestinians. It’s about Islamist propaganda, anti-Israel narratives and the constant repackaging of extremism as “social justice”. The fall of the regime will unmask the entire narrative.

But perhaps the biggest blow will be to the worldview of liberal left-wing activists. It will prove that the greatest yoke the Iranian people have faced was not “Western imperialism”, not “Zionism” and not an abstract geopolitical trap. It was life under Islamic oppression.

When millions of Iranians are free to say it openly, without fear of imprisonment, torture or execution, the activist class will no longer be able to twist it. They won’t be able to pretend that political Islam is “resistance”. They will not be able to sell the lie that terrorists are the oppressed heroes of history.

The fall of the Iranian regime will result in an ideological earthquake.

– Mullahs are some of the most evil, demonic creatures on this planet. They are literally modern day Nazis.

On the surface, 21 January has been a quiet day with no reports of major street protests. International attention has waned quite dramatically and in part centred on Donald Trump and the US Navy.

– Yesterday (20 January), Iranians succeeded in setting fire to the headquarters of the Revolutionary Guards Bank in Tehran. It finances the salaries and weapons of the mullahs’ Islamic militias. Glory be to the courage of the Iranian people!

The first official death toll from the regime has been released. 3117 died during the protests and the crackdown on the protests. Of these, 2427 were civilians. This is significantly lower than independent estimates from the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which as of today verifies 4902 deaths, which is up 383 from the day before. A further 9387 deaths are being reviewed by HRANA. Their total estimate as of 22 January is 14,289 deaths, up 756 in the last 24 hours. HRANA counts 7,389 seriously injured. The regime continues to blame the US and Israel for the unrest.

– The Times reveals the awful truth: 16,500 protesters have been killed and 330,000 injured. Two weeks of protests in Iran have caused more civilian deaths than two years of war in Gaza.

Iran’s Attorney General Mohammad Movahedi stated that “the incitement is over” and vowed to punish those responsible. This confirms that the regime considers the wave of protests crushed, although sporadic localised clashes and night-time riots are still being reported.

The national internet shutdown continues on its 14th day. The regime is working on a state intranet à la the North Korean model, with “absolute digital isolation”.

Witnesses and videos continue to reveal the consequences of the regime’s violence against its own people. Diaspora demonstrations continue globally. The UN Human Rights Council is planning an emergency session on Iran on Friday 23 January.

Trump is lurking behind the scenes

– A reliable rule of thumb: When President Trump doesn’t speak out on an issue, it often means that implementation is imminent. This pattern was evident before the attack on Fordow and the operation to capture Maduro in Venezuela.

While Trump doesn’t say much, his administration is keeping up the pressure with sanctions and military build-up. The USS Abraham Lincoln is approaching the region. An estimated ten aerial refuelling planes have just left the US.

– Three or four of them are headed to Al Udeid airbase in Qatar while the rest will land in Europe. The WSJ also reports that both the Patriot and THAAD air defence systems are being moved to the Middle East. Things are happening.

– In the past five days, a total of 29 C-17 military transport aircraft and 12 refuelling aircraft have arrived in the Middle East, particularly Qatar and Jordan.

Trump’s press works

The Islamic Republic’s mobilisation is underway. Images show Iran’s armed forces moving drones through Tehran. Lorries with IRGC plates are reportedly filmed transporting them on the motorway west of Tehran.

– More signs are emerging that the regime is preparing for war during the massive US military buildup in the Persian Gulf over the past two weeks.

– Iran has ordered all military commanders to report for duty within the next 48 hours.

Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi says Ali Khamenei will be tried and punished on a par with Nazi criminals, by the court of the Iranian people.

– Ali Khamenei, leader of the regime occupying Iran. You are an anti-Iranian criminal. You have neither honour nor humanity. On your hands is the blood of tens of thousands of Iranians. The blood of children…, youth…, innocents…

You, your regime and all your mercenaries, will be held accountable for every drop of blood you have spilled. Without exception.

We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will not retreat.

Just as Nazi criminals were tried and punished at Nuremberg, you and your accomplices will also be tried and punished by the court of the Iranian nation.

You can read the rest of Reza Pahlavi’s message to Khamenei in the tweet below.

– Who is fleeing Iran? The Islamic Republic’s diplomatic plane flies from Qatar to Tehran.

– Western intelligence agencies are reporting that hundreds of officers have defected from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij.

Anecdotal stories are still pouring out of Iran, despite the blocking of the internet. That said, it’s hardly a case of smoke without fire.

– On 9 January, Iranian government forces broke into the home of 19-year-old Amir Hossein Ghaderzadeh. They sexually assaulted him and his two sisters (including a 14-year-old girl). Amir and his sisters were forced to remove most of their clothes in front of onlookers for a body search. They claimed to be searching for metal bullets as “proof” of participation in the protests.

They found traces of metal bullets on Amir. During a court hearing on 17 January, he was charged with “treason” and sentenced to death by hanging. The execution is scheduled for Thursday 22 January.

– A wounded protester survived for three days by lying motionless in a body bag, terrified of getting a “last shot” from security forces. His family had been searching for him for days. They found him with severe gunshot wounds among piles of bodies – without food or water and on the verge of death. He survived by pretending to be dead.

This is not just a rare rescue operation. It’s a picture of the oppression in Iran – of abandoned wounded, of families wandering between hospitals, morgues and security centres.

Regime of terror

Capture from Bandar Abbas, Iran, 9 January: Iranian security forces beat a protester with an axe.

It is claimed that the effects of the Iranian uprising are spreading to Pakistan, Iraq and Syria.

Not just in Iran, but the “spring effect” is spreading to Pakistan, Iraq and Syria. Muslim women are rising up in protest against misogynistic laws introduced by radical Islamists. The symbolism reflects a growing resistance and a demand for dignity, rights, equality and freedom.

Watch the video to the end.

Iranian singer Reza Mozaffari – who has over a million followers – has released a new song titled “Dear Bibi, where are you?”

“Dear Bibi,
You promised that if we took to the streets, you would support us.
Where are you?
Please come to our rescue.
We are waiting for you.”

Iran protests, day 24: State of emergency. 250 mosques destroyed

Iran has not always been Islamic

Les også