Demonstrations held in major European cities in solidarity with Iran protests
Protesters gathered in major European cities in solidarity with the ongoing demonstrations in Iran amid a communications blackout. Protests erupted in Tehran and across Iran two weeks ago over dire economic conditions and a worsening food price crisis.
Protesters gathered in major European cities on Saturday in solidarity with ongoing protests in the Islamic Republic of Iran, against economic conditions that continue to worsen and a crippling food price crisis.
People gathered on the Malieveld, a large grass field in The Hague, to demonstrate against the theocratic government of Iran, after reports emerged just days after the protests started in late December, that security forces were using lethal force against the demonstrators.
The protest participants are worried about the unrest in the country and their family and friends who are hard to contact after the country was engulfed in a communications blackout.
“I'm here for the Iranian people who are now taking to the streets in Iran. Yes, I want to contribute too. So that people see that we're also demonstrating here. We may be far away, but our hearts are with Iran,” said a woman attending the rally.
“I live here, but all my family and friends live in Iran. They have absolutely no freedom; they can't say anything, they have no freedom, no freedom of expression. And they have no money, inflation is incredibly high,” said another protestor.
The protesters, many of them Iranians living abroad or people of Iranian descent, say they have a duty to also demonstrate and show their support from afar, as Iranians back home, of all ages and backgrounds continue to take to the streets to fight for their freedom.
“Almost everybody I know (is protesting). Even my father. He's sixty years old, but he also went to the protests. But I don't have any contact with them, so I don't know if they are still alive.”
Another demonstration was also held in the German capital, Berlin, to support the two-week-long protests, which they say has become one of the greatest challenges to Iran’s authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
"I've been here for 10 years now, and I still see that the situation there is getting worse and worse, and I think people are at the end of their tether this time,” said Azadeh, a protester.
“I don't know, I've often heard that this time it's just different, not like before. People are angrier, and they don't care if they get shot now. They just want their freedom, their rights, and their country back,” she added
Protesters in Berlin say they hope their activism will lead Europe and the United States to assist the Iranians in their struggle to topple the regime.
“We are here today to show our solidarity with the Iranian people, and because of this mass murder by the Iranian government that has been going on for a few days now,” said Farshad Doustipour.
“I hope that (the) Europeans and Americans will come to realise that this regime will be destroyed by the people anyway, and in doing so, we need help from (the) Europeans and Americans,” he continued.
US President Donald Trump was among the first world leaders to comment on the protests, where he issued a chilling threat to the Iranian government to halt the use of lethal force against protesters, or be faced with a military response from Washington.
On Saturday, Trump took to his own social media platform, Truth Social, where he endorsed an optimistic stance on the progress of the protests, without adding further details, and offered his country’s assistance.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” wrote the US President.
Iran cracks down on protests and threatens US and Israel of retaliation in case of intervention
Washington and Tel Aviv reportedly discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, as Tehran warns for retaliation. Meanwhile, Iran's nationwide internet blackout crosses the 60 hour mark, as the death toll rises to 116 people.
Tehran warned that US troops and Israel would be "legitimate targets" if the US strikes Iran, as President Donald Trump reiterated US support for Iranian protesters.
"In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory* (Israel) and centres of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets," Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, speaking in parliament on Sunday.
*Iran does not recognise Israel and considers it occupied Palestinian territory.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed in a phone call on Saturday the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.
The warning comes after US President Donald Trump reiterated Washington is willing to step up to protect peaceful demonstrators. Trump, in a post on his Truth Social platform wrote: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!"
Earlier this week, Trump warned he's willing to strike Iran kills protesters. The State Department separately warned: “Do not play games with President Trump. When he says he’ll do something, he means it".
Trump was reportedly presented on Saturday night with military options for a strike on Iran, according to The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous US officials, adding that he hadn't made a final decision yet.
Reported death toll rises to 116 people as internet blackout passes 60 hour mark
Iran crossed the two-week mark of protests, with nationwide demonstrations continuing into Sunday as crowds took to the streets of the capital of Tehran, as well as Mashhad, the country’s second-largest city, to challenge Iran's theocracy.
The number of deaths in connection with the protests rose to 116 people, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. This number includes 37 members of security forces or other officials
However, activists warn this number could be far higher, as the nationwide internet blackout, which is in its third day, limits the flow of information.
"The censorship measure presents a direct threat to the safety and wellbeing of Iranians at a key moment for the country's future," monitor Netblocks said on X, adding that the blackout is "now past the 60 hour mark".
Human rights groups have expressed concern over the blackout, and warn a "massacre" of protesters is underway.
"The complete Internet and communications shutdown in Iran is extremely alarming: the regime typically does this as a preface to the mass slaughter of protesters. In 2019, when protests broke out throughout the country, the Iranian authorities completely shut down the internet—and then proceeded to kill over 1000 protesters," the Centre for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) wrote in a statement.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 2,600 have been detained. Iran's national police chief confirmed on Sunday the arrest of key figures in the protest.
"Last night (Saturday evening), significant arrests were made of the main elements in the riots, who, God willing, will be punished after going through legal procedures," Ahmad-Reza Radan told state TV, without giving details on the number or identities of those arrested.
Iran is lurching into its most dangerous confrontation in years, with hundreds already dead, and thousands more injured and detained. This latest round of protests from different groups in the country is the biggest challenge to the clerical system and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which protects them.
The scale, geography and rhetoric of the current unrest look unprecedented since 1979, yet crucial preconditions for civil war, armed opposition, territorial fragmentation and large‑scale security‑force defections remain only weakly developed, as far as we know from the limited information coming out of Iran.
A country at boiling point
More than two weeks of nationwide protests, triggered by economic malaise and intensified by calls from the exiled crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, have pushed Iran into a new phase of open confrontation between state and society with neither side looking like they are backing down. Demonstrations have spread across major and minor cities despite internet, banking and telephone shutdowns, with human‑rights groups based abroad able to explain how bad the situation on the ground is. The current regime led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was seemingly fully prepared for riots in recent weeks but still appeared shocked at the outpouring of anger.
The protests build on a decade of recurring uprisings, from the fuel‑price revolt of 2019 to the Mahsa Amini movement in 2022, rooted in stagflation, corruption and suffocating social controls. The latest events look as politically charged and deadly as the previous ones in the past decade, and the death toll could well exceed both if the current impasse, with Khamenei not leaving, does not come to a head soon.
A cycle of mobilisation, repression and partial demobilisation has eroded the Islamic Republic’s legitimacy without yielding meaningful reform, leaving an angry, younger population that increasingly chants for regime change rather than incremental change. There were hopes that a reformist figure like President Masoud Pezeshkian, who won the election in 2024, would transition the republic away from disaster; however, in his January 11 interview, he also doubled down on the message that the protests were foreign-led and hijacked by enemy forces.
New opposition, familiar regime
Two developments distinguish this round. First is the emergence — at least in perception — of a more personalised opposition figure. Former crown prince Reza Pahlavi has used satellite television and social media to call for synchronised chants, street occupations and strikes, urging security forces to “stand with the people, not the perpetrators”.
Firstly, protesters now openly invoke his name and the old monarchical symbols, an unthinkable development a decade ago, with one protestor in London managing to scramble up the walls of the Iranian embassy to switch flags, an action later picked up by the Telegraph newspaper. Backed by powerful expatriate media, likely funded by Israel in some parts, and consolidation of the message away from other groups like the Islamo-Marxist Mujehedeen el-Khalk (MEK), this time there appears to be an organised foreign opposition to the Khamenei-led system that is clinging to power.
Second is the regime’s increasingly brittle image. Years of sanctions, a costly regional posture and, more recently, a brief war with Israel that invited US airstrikes on nuclear sites have strained state capacity and public patience. Yet weakness should not be confused with imminent collapse. Scholarly work on authoritarian durability stresses that regimes can remain coercively effective long after they have lost broad social legitimacy, particularly when security organs are cohesive and materially privileged.
Potentially, a “Napoleon Bonaparte” character could emerge from the military, seeking to consolidate power before a potential collapse, ultimately ending the First Republic and creating a second, more secular one with the lower ranks of the guards. Several analysts have said this could be one of the eventualities to appease most sides vested in the country and to nip the royalist threat in the bud.
What civil war would require
Civil‑war scholarship offers several yardsticks for judging whether unrest is morphing into civil war. These include, a “sustained armed conflict between at least two organised political entities”, secondly “control over territory”, and “battle deaths on a scale far beyond even brutal protest crackdowns”. So far, we have not yet hit the three points, however recent comments by Pahlavi to “occupy” areas of Tehran push the populace closer to the abyss.
There is every possibility that non‑violent protest campaigns can tip into civil war when state intransigence combines with armed opposition. The chances increase if third party actors like the Israelis or Americans “aid” the opposition, which does not yet appear to have happened in any meaningful form apart from intelligence sharing.
In the Islamic Republic, violence is rising but remains asymmetrical currently: the state shoots; protesters largely do not. Within the pattern of repressive crackdowns seen in 2009, 2019 and 2022, this appears to follow the same trend so far rather than the mutual bloodletting of civil war. There is, as yet, no cohesive armed movement commanding territory, heavy weapons or an alternate power structure emerging; however, the “Eternal Guard” which Pahlavi has been referring to appears to be a growing network of protesters and agitators on the ground, likely connected via satellite phones and Elon Musk’s very well-placed satellite system currently hovering over several Iranian cities (see live map).
Iran’s own regional interventions, notably in Syria and Iraq, underline what full‑scale civil war entails and Iranians have vivid memories of breakdowns in Iraq and Syria and would prefer not to head in that direction — for the moment. For all its polarisation and sporadic insurgencies in peripheral provinces, Iran’s conflict today looks more like a nationwide intifada than a Syria‑style descent into multi‑sided war. Some more secular Iranians call the Islamic Republic an “occupation”, although this appears to be younger groups and those who despise Shi'ite Islam, and feel the need to resist, similar to the Palestinian "intifada".
The regime’s coercive core
The main brake on outright civil war is the Islamic Republic’s dense coercive architecture. Over four decades, wartime mobilisation and post‑revolutionary consolidation have produced overlapping institutions, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), volunteer Basij militia, intelligence agencies and a beefed‑up national police, designed precisely to deter and crush internal revolt. The system has several levers and levels at its disposal, as one London-based analyst said to IntelliNews, “This system was born of revolution, and they haven’t forgotten it; they know how this works.”
After the Green Movement of 2009, the state invested heavily in crowd‑control, surveillance and rapid‑reaction capabilities. The police expanded urban presence, intelligence units embedded in neighbourhoods, and new technologies, from cameras to facial recognition, shipped in by the Chinese. They are not stupid. The IRGC, meanwhile, built provincial garrisons and special headquarters designed for large‑scale internal deployments, adding to the Basij units that have repeatedly opened fire on protesters in recent days. The problem secular protest movements in Iran have had in the past 47 years is that groups like the IRGC are often believers in the Islamic system and would die to keep it in place. Many hundreds of thousands of their predecessors died in the Iran-Iraq War, the US invasion of Iraq, the Syrian civil war, Lebanon and others; they see the defence of the Khamenei-led system as their defining and singular goal.
Civil-military‑relations research suggests that as long as this coercive core remains loyal and relatively united, the threshold to civil war is unlikely to be crossed, even amid widespread protest. The key warning sign would be significant defections or neutrality among security forces, especially if they begin coordinating with Pahlavi, who asked them all to register on his site so he can offer amnesty if he were to win the fight. There is no data currently available on how many have actually crossed that threshold.
Pahlavi’s supporters claim that the secure platform has attracted expressions of interest from disaffected officers, and reports circulate of units refusing orders or failing to report for duty. Independent verification is scarce, not least because internet shutdowns and media controls obscure the view. For now, scattered refusals fall short of the large‑scale, openly declared defections that preceded civil war in places such as Syria, as far as we know from what little information is trickling out.
Precipice, not yet plunge
If Iran is not yet on the verge of civil war, it is arguably on the verge of something else: a protracted confrontation in which neither side can decisively prevail. On one side stands a regime ever more reliant on coercion, digital control and manufactured loyalist rallies to project strength as its revolution era social base narrows and dies off. On the other is a heterogeneous opposition, monarchists, republicans, leftists, islamo-marxists and ethnic activists, that is united in loathing the Islamic Republic but fragmented over what should replace it.
Such stalemates can evolve in several directions. Comparative work on protest campaigns and civil wars notes that resolute, indiscriminate repression can either crush dissent for a time or radicalise it into armed resistance, particularly if external sponsors step in. Conversely, opposition movements that sustain non‑violent discipline, cultivate cross‑class coalitions and peel away elements of the coercive apparatus can trigger negotiated transitions or regime implosion without descending into open war.
Iran’s rulers appear to be betting on the former path: brutal but calibrated repression, combined with economic patronage to key constituencies and a narrative that paints protesters as foreign‑backed “terrorists”. In fact, the Islamic Republic has been openly hacking Pahlavi for years, with many of his private family photos and videos being leaked onto social media to discredit the idea of him as a “King of Kings” but rather a well-to-do man living in his Virginia mansion on the riches of a nation.
Despite these petty moves by the Islamic Republic intelligence, it doesn’t appear to have dented the former royal’s image in the eyes of many inside and outside Iran, who admit that he is probably still the better choice out of the two rival systems known to many of the older generation of Iranians. Pahlavi insists his side are betting on the latter, urging disciplined mass action, strikes and the gradual “disabling” of the regime’s repression machine through quiet defections. Each video message he sends up he ratchets up the pressure on the current system just enough to keep pressure and momentum going, something which has failed in each successive protest movement to date.
For now, civil war remains a more distant scenario rather than a forecast in the next fortnight. Yet the longer a brittle theocracy confronts a mobilised society without credible mechanisms for accommodation, the more plausible that scenario becomes. Iran may not be on the verge of civil war today, but it is edging into a grey zone where miscalculation, split loyalties or foreign adventurism could one day tip unrest into something far worse.
All bets are off.
Iran's President Pezeshkian calls for counter-demonstrations against mass protests
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called on citizens to take to the streets to express opposition to ongoing protests against the Islamic Republic in a televised address to the nation.
During his first public appearance in several days, following economic protests that reportedly resulted in over 2,000 deaths, according to foreign-based organisations, he reaffirmed the government's stance. He stated that the protests were taken over by foreign-backed agents after local bazaar merchants initiated the initial street demonstrations.
"We call on the Iranian people to go to the squares to make a decision and not allow riots to distort their demands," Pezeshkian said.
He stated that "Iranian society does not accept those who set fire to mosques."
The president added that foreign infiltrators had infiltrated the protests and were “cutting throats” of those in the crowds. He also expressed condolences over civilian deaths and warned youth against terrorism and participation in riots.
"We officially recognise peaceful protests and consider dialogue with protesters our duty. We are ready to meet with all protesting parties inside the country," he said.
Redirecting the discourse back to the economic sphere, he said, "We will certainly resolve the problems and concerns of producers. Based on the decisions that have been taken, close to 700,000bn tomans have been allocated to support liquidity that producers – whether industrial or agricultural producers – and small industries that are operating need to have access to."
"They will be able to draw from that 700,000bn tomans of financing. The implementation is underway. At the moment, people may visit banks, and it might not yet be finalised, but these decisions have been made, and they are carrying out the implementation."
I want to say that our producers should not be worried, because we are obligated to resolve their problems."
The president's call for loyalist demonstrations came as protests that began on December 29, with merchant strikes over the rial's collapse, continued across Iran.
Civilians and students joined the demonstrations on December 30, with unrest spreading to most major cities as word spread of the ongoing issue.
The government has maintained a near-total internet blackout since January 8, whilst deploying security forces across urban centres to contain demonstrations.
Human rights organisations report the death toll has reached at least 116, though Israeli and US officials suggest the actual figure is significantly higher.
Iran's nationwide protests entered their second week with the confirmed death toll reaching 116 people and human rights monitors warning the actual figure could approach 200, the Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on January 10.
HRANA said protesters and bystanders account for the majority of casualties, with 37 members of security forces also killed.
Seven of those confirmed dead were under 18 years old, whilst four victims including medical staff were not participating in demonstrations.
On January 11, opposition activist Ilia Hashemi wrote on social media “Security forces have taken control of all hospitals in Tehran and are searching for wounded individuals. When someone with fresh gunshot wounds arrives, they are immediately abducted, without any opportunity to receive medical treatment.”
The protests that began on December 28 have now documented 574 separate gatherings across 185 cities in all 31 provinces, according to data compiled by human rights organisations. More than 2,600 people have been arrested, with authorities identifying 628 individuals whilst another 2,010 remain unidentified or were detained in group arrests.
Demonstrations continued in Tehran, Shiraz and Zahedan on January 10 despite an intensified security presence and the deployment of surveillance drones over protest sites. Tehran witnessed scattered, short-duration gatherings as protesters adapted to heavy security force deployments, whilst Zahedan saw expanded military and security units stationed throughout the city.
Iran has maintained a near-total internet blackout since January 8, severely limiting independent verification of events.
The communications shutdown followed the peak of demonstrations on January 7, when 96 cities across 27 provinces reported protest activity.
State-affiliated media outlets have maintained limited internet access and are broadcasting footage characterising protesters as terrorists or armed elements.
Judicial and security officials have warned of severe punishments for demonstrators, continuing rhetoric that began earlier in the protest movement.
US President Donald Trump said on January 10 that Iran is "closer to freedom than ever before" and that America stands "ready to help."
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and other senior EU officials condemned the violent suppression of protests and demanded the release of detainees and full restoration of internet access.
The British government issued similar statements emphasising the right to peaceful protest.
Medical examiner reports indicate most civilian deaths resulted from military-grade bullets or shotgun pellets fired at close range, HRANA said. The casualty figures represent only confirmed cases, with rights groups noting that the communications blackout prevents comprehensive documentation of deaths and injuries.
Exiled former crown prince Reza Pahlavi has emerged as the most visible leader of the protest movement, so far, with demonstrators in multiple cities chanting his name and carrying pre-revolutionary flags bearing the lion and sun symbol.
His daily calls for coordinated protests at specific times have coincided with a sharp escalation in both the geographic spread and intensity of demonstrations.
The current wave represents the most significant challenge to the Islamic Republic's authority since the early 1980s, when the government simultaneously faced armed Marxist militias and an Iraqi invasion.
Previous protest movements in 2009, 2017, 2019 and 2022 were either leaderless or led by figures inside Iran who were eventually silenced through house arrest or imprisonment.
Tehran's Grand Bazaar merchants, whose strikes initially triggered the latest unrest, played a similar role in the 1979 revolution when they helped mobilise opposition to the monarchy. The bazaar sector's participation in current protests has drawn comparisons to that historical precedent.
The Iranian government faces mounting pressure from multiple crises including power outages, water shortages, currency depreciation with the rial trading above IRR1.46mn ($343) against the dollar, and inflation running at approximately 40%.
France, Britain and Germany condemn killing of protesters in Iran.jpg)
By bnm Tehran bureau January 9, 2026
Three major European powers, France, Britain and Germany condemned the killing of protesters in Iran and urged Iranian authorities to refrain from violence, the three governments announced late on January 9.
"The Iranian authorities have the responsibility to protect their own population and must allow freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal," the statement said initially, according to French President Emmanuel Macron's office.
The condemnation came as Iran was largely cut off from the outside world after authorities shut down internet access in an apparent attempt to curb growing unrest. Videos circulating online showed buildings set ablaze during anti-government protests in cities across the country.
Rights groups have documented between 36 and 45 deaths in nearly two weeks of demonstrations that began on December 28 however, there is expected to be an updated total of more than 100 deaths according to the latest rough estimates by IntelliNews.
Iranian state television broadcast footage of clashes and fires, whilst the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that several police officers were killed overnight.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to back down in a televised address on January 9, accusing demonstrators of acting on behalf of exiled opposition groups and the United States.
Tehran's public prosecutor warned that those involved in sabotage or violent clashes with security forces could face the death penalty.
Protests initially spurred by Iran's deteriorating economy and rising inflation have been held in all 31 of the country's provinces, including areas considered typically loyal to the state. More than 2,000 people have been arrested, according to human rights monitors.
Iran's Ministry of Information and Communications Technology said the decision to shut down the internet was taken "by the competent security authorities under the prevailing circumstances of the country."
In response to the unrest, Iran's central bank governor has been replaced and a new system of subsidies to support households purchasing essential goods has been announced.
Political groups previously allied to President Masoud Pezeshkian during his 2024 election campaign have called for institutional and sustainable reforms and the protection of the right to protest.
Khamenei said the government would speak with protesters but that "rioters should be put in their place."
The UK Government said it urged Iran to protect fundamental freedoms. US President Donald Trump said the US is ready to intervene if there is further violence against protesters.
No comments:
Post a Comment