Amid Brutal Repression In Iran, Exiles Abroad Call For Regime Change
In Romania, Iranian exiles are following events in Iran with a mix of fear and hope.
Anti-government protests, sparked by a dire economy and an oppressive regime, have escalated into deadly clashes with thousands of demonstrators estimated killed over the last three weeks by human rights groups.
Different activist groups have put the death toll far higher, but an internet blackout has made it difficult to verify the information.
Those who have moved abroad share insights on what's driving the calls for regime change in Tehran.
In our latest news wraps on Iran, we have details on the latest comments from an Iranian judiciary official who said that the "severest Islamic punishments" would be coming for those deemed "hostile."
Security Forces Reportedly Checking Citizens' Phones
A man in his 70s who left Iran on January 17 told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that “the feeling of martial law is completely in place at night."
"One of the reasons for that," he added, "is that the armed forces randomly stop cars. They check the entire car and also mobile phones. They ask people to unlock their phones.”
The security forces are then "checking citizens’ activities on social media as well as their phone photo galleries," he said, "looking for evidence of the individual’s presence at the protests.”
The Iranian man, who said he was stopped in an area north of Tehran and had heard the same thing from others. "That's why people are telling each other to stay home after 8 p.m.," he said.
Iranian Internet Connectivity Back To Almost Zero
There had been some positive signs that the Internet was starting to come back in Iran.
Monitoring data from NetBlocks showed that on January 17 the number of connected users had increased, albeit by a small amount.
However, NetBlocks later reported that despite the short-term and limited increase, internet connectivity quickly returned to and remains at "almost zero."
According to the latest NetBlocks report, as the outage enters its 10th consecutive day, there is still serious uncertainty as to whether the government intends to resume internet services any time soon.
Meanwhile, the state-run ISNA news agency reported on January 17, citing “relevant officials,” that the internet was to be reconnected “in a gradual and phased manner.” The news agency gave no further details and did not report on the timing or scope of a possible reconnection.
Iranians face a desperate struggle to share evidence of the regime's brutal crackdown amid a near-total internet blackout. Yet small cracks persist, with harrowing information still managing to trickle out.
The Telegram channel Civil Protest Bazaar wrote in a single message on January 17 that "the Rasht Bazaar has been completely destroyed" and that some bazaar owners in Iran "died along the way." The bazaar is a famous traditional market in the northern Iranian city of Rasht.
"We are trying to publish all images, documents, and narratives," the channel wrote. "Our channel has not been able to publish any posts for nine days now due to the government's internet shutdown. This silence is not out of indifference; it is the result of censorship, repression, and the closure of people's means of communication with the world."
The message continues: "In these days, a great crime has been committed. Defenseless people -- men and women, children and the elderly -- were the targets of a violence that history will not forget. We do not have exact figures, but we know that we are talking about thousands of people."
More Harrowing Accounts Of Violence As Some Iranians Flee
A growing number of Iranians who have left the country in recent days are describing a very heavy death toll from the authorities' crackdown.
An Iranian ophthalmologist who recently left the country told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that hospitals are struggling to treat all those injured in the protests and doctors are under immense pressure given the large amount of eye injuries.
"There are reports that security forces have taken away wounded patients from hospitals," the doctor said.
An Iranian citizen who recently traveled to Tajikistan told a correspondent for RFE/RL's Tajik Service that security forces are still out on the streets with "combat weapons" following the widespread protests.
To corroborate, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization announced that verified videos and credible reports from witnesses in Iran indicate widespread extrajudicial killings on an unprecedented scale.
Meanwhile, new videos from Iran appear to show government and plainclothes forces attacking citizens who have taken refuge in residential buildings in Tehran. According to the footage, which RFE/RL has not verified, security forces have used various firearms, batons, machetes, sticks, and lasers to suppress protesters.
Good morning from all of us at RFE/RL. While the news from Iran is slowing down, we're here for another day of live blogging.
We are now closing the live blog for today. We'll be back again tomorrow morning to follow all the ongoing developments in Iran at 9:00 a.m. Central European time.
Trump: Khamenei Responsible For 'Violence At Levels Never Seen Before'
US President Donald Trump said that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is responsible for the "complete destruction" of Iran, hours after Khamenei called nationwide protests an "American sedition" and said that "America must be held accountable."
"What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before," Trump told Politico on January 17.
"In order to keep the country functioning -- even though that function is a very low level -- the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control," he said. "Leadership is about respect, not fear and death."
Trump's latest comments came after he said he decided not to launch military strikes against Iran, crediting Tehran's alleged cancellation of hundreds of scheduled executions as the decisive factor in his decision to hold back from military action.
"The best decision he ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago," Trump said.
Earlier, Trump warned that Iran would face "very serious action" from the United States if it carried out its threats to execute detained protesters.
In Hospitals Across Iran, High Number Of Eye And Head Injuries
More reporting from Radio Farda on the huge number of injuries after the authorities violently cracked down on the protesters.
Shahram Kordasti, director of research at King’s College London’s Faculty of Oncology and Pharmaceutical Sciences, said colleagues in Iran reported an unusually high number of eye and head injuries.
“The volume was so large that specialized eye hospitals could no longer cope,” he said, adding that shortages of medical supplies and difficulties reaching hospitals had worsened the crisis.
Read more here.
Eyewitness: Armed Security Forces Still Out On The Streets
An Iranian citizen who recently traveled to Tajikistan told a correspondent for RFE/RL's Tajik Service that security forces are still out on the streets with "combat weapons" following the widespread protests.
According to this Iranian traveler, shops are closed from the evening onwards, and many are mourning their dead relatives.