How Tehran recasts protest killings as ‘holy duty’

“In a shameful attempt to downplay the scale of the largest street massacre in Iran’s contemporary history, Tehran has sought to cast doubt on the figures reported by Iran International,” the broadcaster’s editorial board said in a statement on Monday.

“Yet the statistics released by the government itself constitute further evidence of their dishonesty.”

The list published by Tehran includes 2,986 names. Fewer than 100 of those overlap with the 6,634 deaths compiled by Iran International since it issued a public call for documentation from families, witnesses and citizen journalists.

The information collected includes victims’ names, photographs, places of residence, circumstances of death and testimony from relatives, gathered despite severe internet restrictions and security pressure on families inside Iran.

Protests erupted in late December and escalated sharply on January 8 and 9, following a call for nationwide action by the exiled prince Reza Pahlavi. The demonstrations were met with a sweeping security crackdown in which thousands were killed and many more wounded or detained.

Iran International has previously put the death toll at at least 36,500, citing leaked official documents—a figure Tehran disputes.

The government’s release of an official “casualties list” appears to have been intended as a rebuttal to that report, but it has instead triggered a backlash.

Critics, including families of victims and activists, have pointed to alleged errors, duplicated identities, inconsistencies in official figures, and the absence of information about unidentified bodies and missing persons.

Iranian officials say the discrepancies stem from the presence of unidentified remains—a claim critics question given the scale of the state’s security and forensic apparatus.

You can read the full statement by Iran International’s editorial board here.

Officials in President Pezeshkian’s government, in a shameful attempt to downplay the scale of the largest street massacre in Iran’s contemporary history, have sought to cast doubt on the figures reported by Iran International. Yet the statistics released by the government itself constitute further evidence of their dishonesty.

Since issuing a public call for the submission of documentation on those killed in the National Revolution, Iran International has received information confirming the deaths of 6,634 individuals. Of these, fewer than 100 namesoverlap with the 2,986-name list published by the Pezeshkian government.

In other words, without access to official institutional data—and relying solely on reports from citizen journalists and the families of those killed, amid intense security pressure and internet restrictions—Iran International has documented, within just 20 days, a death toll more than twice the figure claimed by the government.

The information received includes victims’ names, photographs, cities of residence, circumstances of death, and testimonies provided by families and relatives.

So far, the verified details of 1,141 individuals have been published on the “Truth Registration Map” on Iran International’s website, and this process continues daily.

Since the call was issued, information on an average of nearly 300 additional victims per day has been registered in Iran International’s database. The process of updating figures and documenting victims will therefore continue not only in the coming days, but in the weeks and months ahead.

It must be noted that this vast volume of information has been gathered while internet access remains severely restricted, with millions of Iranians—particularly in smaller and deprived areas—unable to connect. Widespread security pressure and threats against families to prevent them from speaking out have further complicated efforts to collect comprehensive data.

Under these conditions, the courage of those who remain committed to the truth and refuse to allow the memory and names of the victims to be erased has played a decisive role in documenting this crime.

Bodies are still being returned

In its second statement, issued on 5 Bahman (Jan. 25), the Editorial Board of Iran International announced that at least 36,500 people had been killed during the National Revolution.

Verified reports indicate that despite nearly a month having passed since the massacres, the bodies of some protesters are still being returned to their families. Numerous reports received by Iran International also point to dozens of missing persons and the existence of many unidentified bodies.

There are repeated reports of mass burials of victims in various regions, making it impossible to obtain a complete picture of the full scale of the crime at this time.

A government that takes pride in evidence of a crime

Following the publication of its list of the dead, government officials promoted it as though they had released a document worthy of pride.

In an effort to normalize the crime and reduce human lives to mere numbers, the Pezeshkian government called on individuals and media outlets—particularly Iran International—to publish their own figures.

The statistics presented in this statement clearly demonstrate that the government loyal to Khamenei is incapable even of releasing a list aligned with its own narrative.

The government’s published list contains numerous irregularities, including the repetition of at least 25 names with identical national ID numbers, suggesting haste and disorder. Moreover, nearly a month after the killings of 18 and 19 Dey (Jan. 8–9), the figures released do not even match the government’s own claimed number of 3,317 deaths.

The government has attributed this discrepancy to the presence of unidentified bodies. The question remains: how is it that such a vast state apparatus has still failed, after all this time, to identify many of the bodies?

State-affiliated media have also claimed—through a distorted narrative—that large numbers of government agents were killed during the protests, with some officials citing a figure of 200 security personnel. Yet the government’s published list contains no mention of the names or number of these alleged casualties.

Renewed call for submitting documentation

The objective of the Islamic Republic is to conceal an unprecedented crime. The only way to confront this effort is through exposure and transparency.

As emphasized in its original call for documentation, Iran International stands ready to cooperate with human rights organizations, media outlets, journalists, researchers, and independent institutions to document, examine, and ensure international coverage of this crime.

All members of the public—especially the families and relatives of those killed, citizen journalists, and anyone in possession of reliable and verifiable information—are urged to share their documentation with Iran International via the IntelMedia chatbot.

The British Foreign Office said it had sanctioned 10 individuals and the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic for what it described as serious human rights violations, including the killing of protesters, torture, sexual violence, and sweeping restrictions on freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

The measures include asset freezes, travel bans and director disqualification sanctions, which prevent those listed from holding senior positions in British companies.

Among those designated was Eskandar Momeni, who oversees Iran’s domestic security apparatus, provincial police chiefs Mohammad Reza Hashemifar and Ahmed Amini, senior IRGC commander Mohammad Zamani, judges Ahmad Darvish Goftar and Mehdi Rasakhi, and the businessman Babak Zanjani.

“The Iranian people have shown extreme courage in the face of brutality and repression over recent weeks simply for exercising their right to peaceful protest,” Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement. “

The reports and shocking scenes of violence that have been seen around the world are horrific,” she added.

British officials said the action followed similar measures imposed by the European Union and the United States as part of a coordinated effort to hold Iranian authorities accountable.

Last week, EU foreign ministers formally designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, a move that prompted sharp retaliation from Tehran.

Iranian officials have routinely dismissed Western sanctions as politically motivated and deny responsibility for abuses.

On Sunday, Iran’s parliament speaker said the country would now consider the armies of EU member states “terrorist groups,” escalating an already tense standoff between Iran and Western governments.

The sanctions were announced as signs emerged that diplomatic contacts between Iran and the United States could resume.

An Iranian foreign ministry official said on Monday that Tehran was weighing terms for renewed nuclear talks, even as Washington has increased its naval presence in the region following last month’s deadly protest crackdown.

The document, issued by the Strategic Center of Tasnim News Agency – an outlet linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), instructs that audiences should be led to view Pahlavi not as a political alternative, but as a Western-backed media instrument. It outlines three main lines of messaging.

First, it denies that Pahlavi has any meaningful social base inside Iran, saying recent protests were not the result of his calls but were planned on the ground by the United States and Israel. His statements, it argues, serve only as media coverage of unrest rather than leadership.

Second, the strategy seeks to separate broad social anger from support for Pahlavi, saying that many protesters were expressing accumulated frustration with the Islamic Republic rather than endorsing his political qualifications. Supportive slogans, it adds, reflect opposition to the system more than approval of Pahlavi himself.

Third, the document focuses on undermining Pahlavi’s political and personal credibility, portraying him as inconsistent, unwilling to take responsibility, lacking courage, and ultimately depicted as a “puppet” rather than a serious political actor.

Commenting on the document, political analyst Rouhollah Rahimpour, a freelance journalist, told Iran International that within the Islamic Republic’s broader media machinery, “nothing is random – neither words, nor terminology, nor narratives, nor timing.”

He described the approach as a classic narrative war designed to separate the public from political alternatives, allow anger to be released without enabling leadership to form, and keep society in a state of resentment.

“They tried to show that Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is not a political actor but a tool,” Rahimpour said.

He added that the strategy also aims to prevent any perceived identity link between protesters inside Iran and Pahlavi, ensuring that “no identity connection is established between protesters inside Iran and Pahlavi.”

Shiva Mahbobi, a former political prisoner and a spokesperson for the Campaign to Free Political Prisoners in Iran, said her organization has been collecting accounts suggesting that detainees—particularly those wounded during recent protests—are being denied medical care and, in some cases, subjected to injections of unknown substances.

“One massacre happened on the street,” Mahbobi said in an interview with Iran International. “Another may be happening quietly in prisons and detention centers.”

Iranian authorities tightly restrict access to detention facilities, families are often warned against speaking publicly, and there is no mechanism for independent medical or forensic investigation.

Still, Mahbobi and other activists say the reports they are receiving show a troubling pattern rather than isolated incidents.

According to Mahbobi, injured protesters are frequently taken directly into custody rather than to hospitals, where some are left without treatment.

In several cases reported to her organization, detainees were allegedly injected during detention and later experienced rapid medical deterioration.

'Teenage girl in a coma'

In one recent case described by an informed source, a 16-year-old girl detained last week fell into a coma after what the source said was an injection administered in custody.

Medical tests later indicated signs of poisoning, though doctors have not determined the cause. 

The teenager, who was released only after her family paid heavy bail, was transferred to intensive care and remains hospitalized, the source said.

Mahbobi also cited a case in Isfahan in which a young woman was detained, released on bail, and died the following day.

In another reported incident, in Shahinshahr, near Isfahan, Mahbobi said the family of a detained man was told he would be released only after posting bail and receiving what officials described as a “vaccine.” 

According to Mahbobi, the man resisted the injection, was beaten, and later found it difficult to obtain medical care after his release, as doctors feared repercussions.

'Voices calling for help in morgue'

Eyewitness accounts received by Iran International describe similarly disturbing scenes beyond detention centers. 

One witness said voices calling for help could be heard inside a morgue as bodies were being processed, alleging that they were resisting injections. 

Mahbobi said documenting abuses inside prisons remains particularly difficult.

“What people don’t see on television is the most frightening part,” she said. “There is no footage from inside prisons.”

The allegations echo reports from the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests, when several detainees died shortly after their release following unexplained medical treatment in custody. 

In some cases, families and rights groups raised concerns about injections or drug administration, but no independent investigations were carried out.

At the time, medical experts warned that the forced use of sedatives or psychiatric drugs in detention—and their abrupt withdrawal—could cause severe complications, including cardiac failure. 

'Lethal injections in jails'

The exact substances allegedly being used in current cases remain unknown.“We don’t know what they are injecting,” Mahbobi said.

“What we know is that people are being injected in custody, and some of them are dying.”

Mahbobi also said her organization has received reports of injured protesters taken away by ambulance who later returned to their families as bodies, as well as accounts from Kermanshah of residents being summoned to identify corpses which locals believed belonged to detainees.

She warned that executions may increasingly be carried out away from public view. “The executions won’t look like before,” she said. "They will be hidden.”

Iranian officials have not commented on the allegations.

Mahbobi called on the international community to pressure Iranian authorities to disclose the identities and locations of detainees and allow independent monitoring of detention facilities.

“Our fear,” she said, “is that if this continues in silence, many people will never come out alive.”