A protest crowd in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026

UPDATES: Strikes and Protests Spread Over Iran’s Economic Problems

“No Future For Us, So Why Cower and Hide?”: The Protesters in Iran

UPDATE 1852 GMT:

The toll of protesters and bystanders killed by security forces has risen to at least 51, including nine children, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights Organization.

Maryam, a 25-year-old artist who protested in Tehran early Friday said:

They’re aiming for the eyes. The Faraja [uniformed police], the Basij [paramilitary militia] and even plainclothes kill-squads are driving into the crowds with motorbikes.

I don’t know how long the internet will be working but we are thousands on the streets and I fear I will wake up to hundreds of casualties.

Hossein, a 22-year-old university student, explained how demonstrataors were trying to bypass the cutoff of the Internet by Iranian authorities: “Since June, we have been trying several ways to find these ‘secret tunnels’ that can route our messages outside the country. A group of us are able to still chat but I can see mobile lines are also getting disrupted.”

Iranian State media finally acknowledged the protests, declaring the protests are violent riots instigated by “terrorist agents” of the US and Israel. Press TV claimed that an Israeli spy cell was planning a “false-flag killing operation aimed at blaming the state for civilian deaths”.

Speaking in Beirut, Lebanon, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi pushed the message:

The protests that are happening in Iran of course are different from protests in other countries because of US and Israeli interventions in the protests. You need to look at all the statements from the US and Israel to see how they are interfering.

Farzad, a 37-year-old mobile shop owner in Rasht in northern Iran, responded: “They are vulgar and are saying we are in bed with the Israelis and Americans. They call us traitors. It’s them that have betrayed the very sense of being an Iranian.”

UPDATE 1226 GMT:

In remarks aired on State TV, the Supreme Leader has portrayed protesters as foreign-backed “saboteurs”: “Everyone should know that the Islamic Republic came to power with the blood of hundreds of thousands of honorable people, and it will not back down in the face of saboteurs.”

He said of demonstrators, “They want to make [Donald Trump] happy. If he knew how to run a country, he would run his own.”

Trump should know that world tyrants such as Pharaoh, Nimrod, Reza Shah, and Mohammad Reza were brought down at the peak of their arrogance. He too will be brought down.

UPDATE 1219 GMT:

Protesters in Zahedan in southeast Iran have reportedly been injured by security forces.

The forces reportedly used tear gas and shotgun pellets on the demonstration after Friday Prayers.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Iran’s authorities cut the Internet on Thursday night amid mass demonstrations in cities on the 12th day of nationwide protests.

The protests and strikes began over economic conditions, notably the collapse of the national currency, but have turned into a challenge to the rule of the reigme.

The monitor NetBlocks first reported outages in Kermanshah in western Iran during the day. By night, access had been almost completely shut down through the Islamic Republic.

The toll has risen to at least 45 killed, including eight children, as security forces try to disperse the gathering, according to the Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights. Wednesday was the bloodiest day so far, with 13 protesters confirmed killed. IHR said hundreds more have been wounded and more than 2,000 arrested.

Amnesty International summarized, “Iran’s security forces have injured and killed both protesters and bystanders.”

More shopkeepers joined a general strike after calls from seven Kurdish groups, shutting in Kurdish regions and dozens of other cities and provinces such as Ilam, Kermanshah, and Lorestan. Claims circulated of firing on demonstrators in Kermanshah and the nearby town of Kamyaran to the north, injuring several demonstrators.

By the end of Thursday, large crowds were gathering in Tehran, including on the wide Ayatollah Kashani Boulevard in the northwest of the capital, as vehicle drivers honked horns in support.

In Fars Province in southern Iran, protesters pulled down the statue of the regime’s icon, Gen. Qassem Suleimani. The long-time commander of the Quds Force, the branch of the Revolutionary Guards operating outside Iran, Soleimani was assassinated by the US almost exactly six years ago.

The scene in Isfahan in central Iran, as the headquarters of State broadcaster IRIB was reportedly set ablaze:

The Fars News Agency, the outlet of the Revolutionary Guards, said a members of the security forces was killed west of Tehran trying “to control unrest”. Regime Outlets close to the government said a police colonel was stabbed outside Tehran, while a police station in Chenaran, north-east of Tehran, was attacked on Wednesday night leading to the death of five people.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian called for “utmost restraint” by security personnel: “Any violent or coercive behaviour should be avoided.” He urged the regime to pursue “dialogue, engagement. and listening to the people’s demands”.