Author: Keyvan Rafiee

ABC News – Hackers disrupted Iranian state television satellite transmissions to air footage supporting the country’s exiled crown prince and calling on security forces to not “point your weapons at the people,” online video showed early Monday, the latest disruption to follow nationwide protests in the country.

The hacking comes as the death toll in a crackdown by authorities that smothered the demonstrations reached at least 3,941 people, activists said. They fear the number will grow far higher as information leaks out of a country still gripped by the government’s decision to shut down the internet. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had his invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, withdrawn over the killings.

Meanwhile, tensions remain high between the United States and Iran over the crackdown after President Donald Trump drew two red lines for the Islamic Republic — the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran conducting mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations. A U.S. aircraft carrier, which days earlier had been in the South China Sea, passed Singapore overnight to enter the Strait of Malacca — putting it on a route that could bring it to the Middle East.

The footage aired Sunday night across multiple channels broadcast by satellite from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the country’s state broadcaster. The video aired two clips of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, then included footage of security forces and others in what appeared to be Iranian police uniforms. It claimed without offering evidence others had “laid down their weapons and swore an oath of allegiance to the people.”

“This is a message to the army and security forces,” one graphic read. “Don’t point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran.”

The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the country’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, quoted a statement from the state broadcaster acknowledging that the signal in “some areas of the country was momentarily disrupted by an unknown source.” It did not discuss what had been aired.

A statement from Pahlavi’s office acknowledged the disruption that showed the crown prince. It did not respond to questions from The Associated Press about the hack. How much support Pahlavi has inside of Iran remains an open question, though there have been pro-shah cries at the demonstrations and at night since the crackdown.

Sunday’s hack isn’t the first to see Iranian airwaves disrupted. In 1986, The Washington Post reported that the CIA supplied the prince’s allies “a miniaturized television transmitter for an 11-minute clandestine broadcast” to Iran by Pahlavi that pirated the signal of two stations in the Islamic Republic.

In 2022, multiple channels aired footage showing leaders from the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and a graphic calling for the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

As tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington, ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP on Monday showed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier, as well as other American military vessels, in the Strait of Malacca after passing Singapore on a route that could take them to the Middle East.

The Lincoln had been in the South China Sea with its strike group as a deterrent to China over tensions with Taiwan. Tracking data showed that the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy and the USS Spruance, all Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers, were traveling with the Lincoln through the strait.

Multiple U.S. media reports quoting anonymous officials have said the Lincoln, which has its homeport in San Diego, was on its way to the Mideast. It likely would still need several days of travel before its aircraft would be in range of the region. The Mideast has been without an aircraft carrier group or an amphibious ready group, likely complicating any discussion of a military operation targeting Iran given Gulf Arab states’ broad opposition to such an attack.

“Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,” the forum said.

Iran’s ambassador to Switzerland, Mahmoud Barimani, called the decision an “unreasonable act which was no doubt under the pressure and influence of anti-Iranian currents and radical American-Zionists.”

The Munich Security Conference separately withdrew invitation for Iranian government officials over the crackdown.

The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll Monday to at least 3,941, warning it likely would go higher.

The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations and unrest in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The AP has been unable to independently confirm the toll.

Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, Khamenei said the protests had left “several thousand” people dead and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran’s ailing economy.

The agency also reported over 25,700 people had been arrested. Comments from officials have led to fears of some of those detained being put to death in Iran, one of the world’s top executioners.

“While the killers and seditious terrorists will be punished, Islamic mercy and leniency will be applied to those who were deceived and did not have (effective) roles in the terrorist event,” a statement Monday from Iran’s president, its judiciary chief and parliament speaker said.

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The Hindu – More than 3,000 people have died in Iran’s nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday (January 17, 2026), while a “very slight rise” in ‍internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.

The U.S.-based HRANA ​group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, ‌after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly ​quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.

The capital Tehran has been comparatively quiet for four days, said several residents reached by Reuters. Drones were flying over the city, but there were no signs of major protests on Thursday (January 15, 2026) or Friday (January 16, 2026), said the residents, who asked not to be identified for their safety.

A resident of a ​northern city on the Caspian Sea said the streets there also ⁠appeared calm.

The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic, culminating in mass ​violence late last week. According ⁠to opposition groups and an Iranian official, more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

“Metrics show a very slight rise in internet connectivity in #Iran this ‌morning” after 200 hours of shutdown, the internet monitoring group NetBlocks ‌posted on X. Connectivity remained around 2% of ordinary levels, it said.

A few Iranians overseas said on social ‍media that they had been able to message users living inside Iran early on Saturday (January 17, 2026).

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had threatened “very strong action” if Iran ‍executed protesters, said Tehran’s leaders had called off mass hangings.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he posted on social media.

Iran had not announced plans for such executions or said it had cancelled them.

Indian students and pilgrims returning from Iran said they were largely confined to their accommodations while in the country, ⁠unable to communicate with their families back home.

“We only heard stories of violent protests, and one man jumped in ​front of our car holding a burning baton, shouting something in the local ⁠language, with anger visible in his eyes,” said Z. Syeda, a third-year medical student at a university in Tehran.

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Anadolu Agency –  Iran will gradually lift internet and communication restrictions imposed following violence during protests that began over economic hardship late last month, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday.

Citing security officials, the news agency said the decision comes after “security issues were brought under control” and key figures of “terror organizations” were detained by security forces.

Officials claimed that “limiting internet access significantly weakened the internal connections of opposition networks abroad” and preventing the operations of “terror cells.”

According to the plan to restore services based on security conditions, text messaging services (SMS) have been reactivated as the first step, with full access to the national internet network and domestic apps to follow in the second phase before international internet access is restored in the third stage.

Local sources confirmed that access to domestic messaging applications such as Eita and Bale has been restored after days of disruption.

The restrictions were implemented after protests over economic hardships turned violent on Jan. 8.

Officials said the government is “fully aware of its human rights obligations” toward its citizens and has taken “all necessary measures to exercise maximum restraint” while also fulfilling its “duty to protect its people and maintain public order and national security.”

Separately, internet monitor NetBlocks said metrics showed a slight rise in internet connectivity in Iran on Saturday morning. However, overall connectivity remains at 2% of ordinary levels and there is no indication of a significant return, it said on US social media company X.

While Iranian officials have not released any official casualty figures, a US-based human rights monitor said the death climbed to 3,090.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said another 2,055 people have also been injured and 22,123 individuals detained across the country since the unrest began.

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Turkiye Today – The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the death toll from protests in Iran that erupted over economic hardship has risen to 3,090.

According to HRANA, 2,055 people were injured and 22,123 people were detained in incidents linked to demonstrations across multiple parts of the country.

In its previous report issued a day earlier, HRANA said the death toll stood at 2,677, indicating a sharp increase.

Iranian authorities have not released official figures on fatalities or injuries. However, officials have previously said that around 3,000 people accused of belonging to terrorist organizations or of provoking unrest were detained.

The protests began on Dec. 28, 2025, after shopkeepers at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar took to the streets to protest the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial, soaring inflation and worsening economic conditions.

The demonstrations later spread to many cities across the country.

After protests intensified in Tehran on Jan. 8, Iranian authorities imposed sweeping internet restrictions nationwide.

Iran moves to gradually lift internet restrictions

Iran will gradually lift internet and communication restrictions imposed during the protests, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Saturday.

Citing security officials, Fars said the decision followed what authorities described as the restoration of control over security conditions and the detention of key figures linked to “terror organizations.”

Officials claimed the internet shutdown “significantly weakened the internal coordination of opposition networks abroad” and disrupted the operations of alleged “terror cells.”

Under the phased plan, text messaging (SMS) services have been restored as a first step. Access to the national internet network and domestic applications is expected in the second phase, followed by the restoration of international internet access.

Local sources confirmed that domestic messaging platforms such as Eita and Bale have resumed operations after days of disruption.

Connectivity remains extremely limited

Despite the easing measures, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said overall connectivity in Iran remained at around 2% of normal levels on Saturday morning.

“There is no indication yet of a significant return of connectivity,” the group said in a post on X.

Authorities have insisted they are “fully aware of their human rights obligations,” while stressing their responsibility to maintain public order and national security.

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NPR News – Iran’s judiciary head signaled Wednesday there would be fast trials and executions ahead for suspects detained in nationwide protests despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The comments by Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei came as activists had warned hangings of those detained could come soon. The security force crackdown on the demonstrations has killed at least 2,586, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported. The current death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Trump has repeatedly warned that the U.S. may take military action over the killing of peaceful protesters, just months after it bombed Iranian nuclear sites during a 12-day war launched by Israel against the Islamic Republic in June.

Iran meanwhile has threatened it could make a preemptive strike after alleging without offering evidence that Israel and the United States orchestrated the protests. A U.S. official said some personnel at a key U.S. military base in Qatar have been advised to evacuate by Wednesday evening, a decision that came as a senior official in Iran brought up an earlier Iranian attack there.

A mass funeral also was held Wednesday for some 100 security force members killed in the demonstrations. Tens of thousands of mourners attended, holding Iranian flags and photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The caskets, covered in Iranian flags, stood stacked at least three high. Red and white roses and framed photographs of people who were killed covered them.

People elsewhere remained fearful in the streets. Plainclothes security forces still milled around some neighborhoods, though anti-riot police and members of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force appeared to have been sent back to their barracks.

“We are very frightened because of these sounds (of gunfire) and protests,” said a mother-of-two shopping for fruits and vegetables, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals. “We have heard many are killed and many are injured. Now peace has been restored but schools are closed and I’m scared to send my children to school again.”

Ahmadreza Tavakoli, 36, told The Associated Press he witnessed one demonstration in Tehran and was shocked by the use of firearms by authorities.

“People were out to express themselves and protest, but quickly it turned into a war zone,” Tavakoli said. “The people do not have guns. Only the security forces have guns.”

“We have to do it quickly”

Mohseni-Ejei’s comments about rapid trials and executions were made in a video shared by Iranian state television online.

“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” he said. “If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”

The comments stand as a direct challenge to Trump, who warned Iran about executions an interview with CBS aired Tuesday.

“We will take very strong action,” Trump said. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”

“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good.”

One Arab Gulf diplomat told the AP that major Mideast governments had been discouraging the Trump administration from launching a war now with Iran, fearing “unprecedented consequences” for the region that could explode into a “full-blown war.” The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to journalists.

Satellite internet service offer

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. Iran’s government cut off the country from the internet and international telephone calls on Jan. 8.

Activists said Wednesday that Starlink was offering free service in Iran. The satellite internet service has been key in getting around an internet shutdown launched by the theocracy on Jan. 8. Iran began allowing people to call out internationally on Tuesday via their mobile phones, but calls from people outside the country into Iran remain blocked.

“We can confirm that the free subscription for Starlink terminals is fully functional,” said Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who has helped get the units into Iran. “We tested it using a newly activated Starlink terminal inside Iran.”

Starlink itself did not immediately acknowledge the decision.

Security service personnel also apparently were searching for Starlink dishes, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many in the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent years.

Death toll continues to rise

The Human Rights Activists News Agency said 2,417 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with 10 civilians it said were not taking part in protests.

More than 18,400 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.

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Online.ua – According to human rights activists, at least 2,571 people have died as a result of the protests, of whom 2,403 were protesters and 147 were individuals associated with the Iranian government.

In addition, more than 18,100 people were detained during the riots, HRANA added.

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ABC News – The Trump administration said Thursday it is sanctioning five top Iranian officials who they say are responsible for the nation’s “brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators.”

“Our message to the Iranian people is clear: Your demands are legitimate,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a video on social media about the action. “You are protesting for a noble cause, and the United States supports you and your efforts to peacefully oppose the regime’s mismanagement and brutality.“

The targeted security officials include Ali Larijani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, who the Treasury said was “one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to the legitimate demands of the Iranian people.”

Commanders with the Law Enforcement Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also targeted, according to the Treasury Department.

“The officials sanctioned today — and their organizations — bear responsibility for the thousands of deaths and injuries of their fellow citizens as protests erupted in each of these provinces,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.

As part of the sanctions, the State Department said the U.S. is also designating the “notorious” Fardis Prison.

“As the brave people of Iran continue to fight for their basic rights, the Iranian regime has responded with violence and cruel repression against its own people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement, which added, “We will continue to deny the regime access to financial networks and the global banking system while it continues to oppress the Iranian people.”

As of Wednesday, 18 days of protests and a resulting crackdown by security forces had seen 2,615 deaths and 18,470 people arrested, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Among the dead were 13 children and 14 non-protesting civilians, HRANA said.

On the government side, HRANA said it had confirmed the deaths of 153 members of the security forces.

Another 882 additional deaths remain under investigation, HRANA said.

The HRANA data relies on the work of activists inside and outside the country. ABC News cannot independently verify its numbers.

Iran briefly issued a notice, known as a NOTAM, closing its airspace to most flights, after U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at possible action against Iran and in support of anti-government protests which have roiled the country in recent weeks.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization confirmed on Thursday morning that flights were back in operation over the country, according to a statement carried by Iranian state-aligned media.

Protests have been spreading across the country since late December. The first marches took place in downtown Tehran, with participants demonstrating against rising inflation and the falling value of the national currency, the rial. As the protests spread, they took on a more explicitly anti-government tone.

The subsequent security crackdown has included a sustained national internet blackout, which — according to online monitoring group NetBlocks — had been in place for 156 hours as of Thursday morning.

On Wednesday, Cloudflare’s threat-intelligence unit said in a statement that it had “observed Iranian authorities targeting Instagram accounts with tools that perform bulk extraction of follower lists and account activity.”

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Al Jazeera – Protests in Iran, which began in late December 2025 over the country’s worsening economic conditions, have escalated into a broader challenge to its clerical leadership, which has been in power since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

Tensions with the United States have mounted since US President Donald Trump suggested that Washington could militarily intervene in Iran if there was a crackdown on protesters.

Critics of the Iranian government, primarily in the West, claim that thousands of people have died in the protests. In particular, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) put the death toll at 2,615 on Wednesday.

However, the Iranian government said these numbers have been exaggerated, and Iranian state TV reports put the figure at about 300.

On Wednesday night, Trump’s tone softened when he said he had received assurances from Iran that the killings of protesters in Iran had stopped and that executions of detained demonstrators would not go ahead.

But his earlier threats to attack Iran prompted Tehran to warn of retaliation and, on Wednesday, Qatar ‌confirmed some personnel ‍had been removed from the Al Udeid air‌base, which hosts US armed forces, saying it was ‌in ⁠response ‌to “current ‍regional ‌tensions”.

There have been some clashes between demonstrators and security forces in Iran, resulting in deaths. An ongoing internet blackout – which entered its eighth day on Thursday – has made it particularly difficult to track the actual number of deaths, according to watchdog NetBlocks.

What do we know about the death toll in Iran?

Iran has not released an official death toll, but authorities stated this week that more than 100 members of the security forces have been killed in clashes with protesters. Opposition activists said the toll is much higher and includes more than 1,000 protesters.

HRANA said the number of people killed had climbed to at least 2,615 on Wednesday.

Norway-based organisation Iran Human Rights (IHR) reported on Wednesday that at least 3,428 protesters had been killed in a crackdown on demonstrations.

But the same day, Iranian state TV said mass funerals were taking place in Tehran that would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians.

In an interview with Fox News on Wednesday, Iranian ‍Foreign ‍Minister Abbas Araghchi denied that Tehran had plans to execute protesters. During this interview, Araghchi downplayed the death toll that is being reported.

“I certainly deny the numbers and figures they have said. It is an exaggeration, it is a misinformation campaign, only to find excuses, only to do another aggression against Iran,” Araghchi said, adding that the number was being exaggerated to involve Trump in the conflict.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify any of the figures that have been reported.

Among all of these figures, HRANA’s numbers are the ones that are most cited by news organisations worldwide.

What is HRANA?

According to its website, US-based HRANA is the news agency affiliated with Human Rights Activists in Iran (also known as HRAI and HRA), which is described as “a non-political and non-governmental organisation comprised of advocates who defend human rights in Iran”.

The website states that HRAI was formed in 2005 but does not name or provide details about who formed the organisation.

It says that in February 2006, a small group of Iranian activists gathered to organise protests against human rights violations in the country.

“That effort lay the foundation of a larger vision that ultimately led to the establishment of an organization later known as Human Rights Activists in Iran,” the website states, adding that, initially, the effort was focused on political prisoners. It supported victims’ families, documented abuses and ran public education campaigns in Iran.

Why is the group now based in the US?

By March 2010, the group was legally registered inside Iran, shifting from a “semi-secret organization into one which openly operated in Iran”, it states.

The organisation adds that during this time, the group decided to publicly disclose the names of its leaders. “By publicly disclosing the names of our leaders, we hoped to neutralize such suspicions that have historically led to brutal crackdowns in the past.”

However, the government did crack down on it, it says.

The website adds: “The military-style crackdown of our organization on March 2, 2010 left our members even more determined than before to re-group and ultimately rebuild the necessary infrastructure needed to continue our work despite the security risks that threatened each and every one of us.”

According to a document published by Amnesty International on March 12, 2010, HRAI reported that Iranian security forces raided the house and workplace of at least 29 of its members between March 2 and March 3, arresting 15 people.

The website adds that soon after the crackdown, HRAI registered in the US as a nonprofit organisation, and focused on recruiting skilled members, integrating technology into its operations and “obtaining appropriate sources of financial support”.

What is HRANA’s assessment of the crisis in Iran?

This week, HRANA reported that of the 2,615 people killed, 2,435 were protesters, 153 were affiliated with the government or military, and 14 were civilians who were not protesting.

Besides the death toll, HRANA has reported that 18,470 people have been arrested over the course of 617 protests in 187 cities, beginning on December 28 in Tehran.

HRANA has also published news articles online with names, photos, ages and more information about some of the people who it says have been arrested or killed.

What do we know about HRANA’s backers, members and methodology?

Al Jazeera contacted HRANA for comment, but a spokesperson declined to disclose information about the group’s members or funding sources, citing security concerns.

The spokesperson told Al Jazeera that the organisation confirms all data with primary sources, but said it could not disclose the identities of individuals or organisations in Iran with whom HRANA corroborates information. Its methodology for collecting and analysing data is not provided on its website.

How has HRANA’s previous reporting compared with official government figures?

Iran fought a 12-day war with Israel from June 13 to 24 in 2025.

HRANA reported that over the course of the conflict, 1,190 people were killed and 4,475 were injured in Iran. These figures included civilian and military casualties. The organisation additionally reported that during the war, 1,596 people were arrested by Iranian security forces.

By contrast, according to Iran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education, 610 people were killed and 4,746 people were injured over the course of the war.

In September 2022, a young woman named Mahsa Amini, aged 22, was arrested in Tehran for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly. She collapsed while in custody and died in hospital a few days later.

Her death caused national outrage and widespread protests in Iran that lasted for several weeks. The slogan “woman, life, freedom” was chanted in the streets.

HRANA reported in October 2022 that 200 people died and about 5,500 people were arrested during those protests.

That death toll matched figures of the state security council of the Iranian interior ministry, which said in December 2022 that more than 200 people had been killed since September. The security body said the deceased included security forces, those killed in “terrorist acts”, those killed by foreign-affiliated groups and described those killed by state forces as “rioters” and “armed anti-revolutionary elements who were members of secessionist groups”.

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