Where things stand
• Iran says it is “prepared for war” but ready to negotiate with the US based on “mutual respect and interests,” after US President Donald Trump said Tehran called to negotiate as his administration weighs possible military intervention during widespread anti-government protests.
• More than 500 protesters have been killed and almost 10,700 people have been arrested, according to a US-based rights group, as the demonstrations now enter a third week. A communications blackout imposed by Iranian authorities has now lasted four days.
• Protests are being seen beyond Iran’s borders. In Los Angeles, a person was detained after driving a truck through a crowd of anti-Iranian government protesters. In Tehran, the British ambassador was summoned after a protester in London tore down the Iranian embassy’s flag.
Footage from protests across Iran last night show crowds chanting and marching together
Footage from protests across Iran last night that has been verified by CNN shows large crowds chanting and marching together, as well as several instances of fire.
Video from pro-reform activist outlet IranWire shows a demonstration in Punak, a neighborhood in the capital city of Tehran. Crowds chant various phrases, including “freedom, freedom, freedom, say it,” “long live the shah,” and “Iran, you’re shut down, you fight, you die, give Iran back.”
In two different videos from Punak, a fire can be seen in the middle of the road. Protesters march in a line, chanting together.
In Siahkal, a city in the northwest of Iran, multiple fires were seen on video. Another video shows large plumes of smoke in the middle of a street.
Video from Ekbatan in western Tehran shows another group marching in a line and chanting.
Iran internet blackout has now persisted for 4 days, according to watchdog
Iran’s internet blackout has reached 96 hours, according to cybersecurity watchdog NetBlocks.
According to NetBlocks, “fixed-line internet, mobile data and calls are disabled, while other communication means are also increasingly being targeted.”
On Thursday, network connectivity dropped down to around 1% of the usual traffic, signaling a blackout as authorities cracked down on anti-government protesters.
The countrywide communications shutdown makes it difficult to assess what is happening on the ground. Estimates from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) have put the death toll at more than 500. CNN is unable to independently verify that number.
Iran summoned several European ambassadors, says state media
Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, and France today to present them with footage of what it described as violent acts by protesters during recent demonstrations.
According to Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the ambassadors were called in after their governments publicly expressed support for the protests.
During the meeting, Iranian officials showed footage of the unrest, claiming the actions went beyond peaceful protest and amounted to organized sabotage.
Tehran urged the ambassadors to relay the footage to their respective foreign ministers and “demanded the retraction of official statements expressing support for the protesters,” IRIB said.
International protests continue in solidarity with Iranian demonstrators
A number of international protests took place over the weekend in solidarity with those demonstrating in Iran. These rallies have continued into the week, taking place in London, Milan and Berlin today.
Take a look at some pictures from these protests below:
Top Iranian officials join pro-regime rallies in Tehran
Top Iranian government officials, including the country’s president and foreign minister, participated in pro-regime rallies in Tehran today, according to official Iranian media.
“Iranian people should remain strong and present. Their presence encourages us,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said while marching among thousands in the capital, as seen in video published by Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
The country’s President Masoud Pezeshkian was also seen in a video from IRIB, surrounded by several men and waving to participants.
Pro-government rallies were held across Iran as the country entered a third week of nationwide anti-government protests.
Officials addressed supporters at the rallies, describing the anti-government demonstrations as “foreign-backed riots.”
Iranian security forces raiding homes as part of Starlink clampdown, activist outlet says
Iranian security forces are clamping down on the use of Starlink in the country, carrying out raids on homes and arresting those in apparent possession of satellite equipment, according to pro-reform activist outlet IranWire.
Starlink is a US-based service, owned by billionaire Elon Musk’s SpaceX. It delivers mobile broadband via a network of orbiting satellites.
On Saturday, an expert who studies internet disruptions told CNN Iranian authorities could be “jamming” Starlink terminals to further isolate the country amid widespread anti-regime protests.
Doug Madory, director of internet analysis at network intelligence platform Kentik, confirmed that some Starlink users are experiencing high degrees of “packet loss,” which indicates their signal could be “getting jammed.”
Even though the Iranian regime opposes the use of Starlink in the country, Madory said that people have managed to smuggle in terminals.
Iran's foreign minister reached out to US envoy Witkoff this weekend
Iran’s foreign minister has communicated in recent days with Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s special envoy, as Trump weighs taking action in response to Tehran’s crackdown on protesters, according to a person familiar with the matter.
It wasn’t clear what, if anything, the outreach from Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi might yield. But it appeared to some US officials like an effort to lower temperatures amid Trump’s threats.
Witkoff and Araghchi established a channel of communication early last year as the Trump administration worked to negotiate a nuclear agreement.
Those talks sputtered out after the US bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June.
Trump said Sunday that Iran had called him a day earlier to negotiate.
“They called yesterday,” Trump said. “Iran called to negotiate.”
“The leaders of Iran, they want to negotiate,” he continued.
“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States. Iran wants to negotiate with us.”
Today, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the communication channel between Araghchi and Witkoff “remains open” and “whenever necessary, messages are exchanged through that channel.”
He added that “certain points and ideas have been presented by the other side,” referring to the US.
EU parliament bans Iranian diplomats and representatives from premises, president says
The European Parliament will ban all Iranian diplomatic staff and representatives from its premises amid widespread anti-regime protests in Iran, according to the assembly’s president Roberta Metsola.
Metsola said the parliament, which is the European Union’s law-making body, “will not aid in legitimising this regime that has sustained itself through torture, repression and murder.”
“It cannot be business as usual,” she added.
Analysis: The main obstacle to renewed US-Iran talks is deep distrust
While US President Donald Trump says Iran messaged Washington to negotiate, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirms Tehran is open to dialogue — but on its terms.
“Fair and dignified negotiations, from an equal position, with mutual respect and based on mutual interests,” Araghchi told a group of foreign diplomats in a televised meeting in Tehran on Monday. At the same time, he added that Iran was also ready for war.
For Iran, “fair and dignified” means the US would need to recognize what Tehran sees as its intrinsic right to enrich uranium inside Iran, in its own facilities.
But the US says enrichment is a red line, fearing the Iranians might be working toward nuclear weapons. Tehran has consistently denied that it seeks to weaponize its nuclear program.
But while the question of uranium enrichment would be key to getting talks started, major distrust between the US and Iran seems, so far, to have prevented them from starting at all.
Iran says it lost trust in the Trump administration after it came under attack from Israel just as the Islamic Republic was engaged in talks with US special envoy Steve Witkoff to come to an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program.
The US, for its part, felt progress toward a deal was too slow. Trump had given Iran a roughly 60-day deadline for an agreement, and he later said Israel’s attack on Iranian nuclear sites came just as that deadline had passed.
Now, while both sides are signaling openness to begin negotiations again, it’s unclear who will be willing to make the first move and propose a place, date and agenda to get the diplomatic process moving again.
Iran violence "much worse than you can imagine," Tehran resident tells CNN
As protests in Iran enter a third week, the authorities are stepping up a violent crackdown on demonstrators. One Tehran resident has described the violence at protests as “awful” and “much worse than you could imagine.”
The 55-year-old man told CNN that workplaces were shutting mid-afternoon today, ahead of more demonstrations. There is still largely a communications blackout across the country.
Some workplaces have regained access to internet sporadically throughout the day, said the man, who asked not to be named for security concerns.
State media outlets also began posting on websites including X and Telegram after having also been affected by the blackout.
However, as of 5 p.m. local time in Iran (8:30 a.m. ET), some state-affiliated media websites were still inaccessible.
Iran’s internet shutdown is disrupting consular services in Tehran, foreign ministry says
The ongoing internet shutdown in Iran has disrupted some consular services in capital city Tehran, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei has said, according to semi-official Tasnim news agency.
He said this issue would be “resolved soon.”
Baghaei added that Iran’s foreign ministry is in touch with embassies and consulates in Tehran about the impact of the blackout, which was imposed by the Iranian government on Thursday amid growing anti-regime protests across the country.
Protester death toll in Iran passes 500, US-based rights group says
At least 503 protesters have been killed in just over two weeks of anti-government demonstrations in Iran, according to US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
It remains unclear whether HRANA’s tally fully captures the scale of casualties, given the authorities’ shutdown of internet access and telephone lines.
CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s death toll.
European leaders condemn violence used against protesters in Iran
As violence against protesters across Iran has escalated in recent days, international leaders are condemning the harsh crackdown on dissent.
Here’s what an number of European leaders have said about the situation in Iran today:
- The secretary general of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, said that there has been a “deadly crackdown” against protesters in Iran. “Regional and global stability is at stake,” he posted to X, adding that he has convened a meeting with Council of Europe member states to “explore steps to defend rights and avert escalation.”
- A spokesperson for the British government said the UK “utterly condemn(s) the terrible violence being used by the Iranian regime against those exercising their right to peaceful protest.” They added that the country is “unequivocal that Iran must protect its people’s fundamental freedoms, including access to information and communications.”
- France’s President Emmanuel Macron said that he “condemn(s) the state violence that indiscriminately targets Iranian women and men who courageously demand respect for their rights” in a post on X. “Respect for fundamental freedoms is a universal requirement, and we stand alongside those who defend them,” he said.
- Switzerland’s foreign ministry said that it is “is following the numerous arrests and deaths in connection with the protests in Iran with great concern,” calling on authorities to “end the violence against demonstrators and to guarantee the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all the protesters.”
- Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in an X post that he is “deeply concerned about the situation in Iran.” Støre said his country “condemns the grave and disproportional use of violence. The Iranian authorities cannot ignore the people’s demand for basic human rights.”
- Dick Schoof, prime minister of the Netherlands, said that “the brave men and women in the streets of Iranian cities deserve our support. They are standing up against tyranny and making their loud calls for freedom heard.” Schoof said on X that his country “urges the Iranian regime to stop the violence, release those who have been unjustly arrested, and restore internet access.”
- Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin posted: “I strongly condemn the brutal and violent suppression of protestors that has left hundreds of civilians dead in Iran over recent days.” He urged Iranian authorities to “uphold the rights of all their citizens.”
This post has been updated to add reaction. CNN’s James Frater and Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed reporting.
Analysis: Iran’s latest protests may end up being the deadliest yet
Two weeks into what is now the fifth wave of nationwide protests in Iran in the past decade, evidence suggests this latest round is shaping up to be among the deadliest yet — both for civilians and security forces.
As of Monday, the Washington, DC-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has reported that nearly 500 civilians were killed across the country, although CNN cannot independently verify these figures.
There could be potential reasons for this.
These protests are taking place in the shadow of June’s 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which eventually drew the United States into direct confrontation with Tehran. Tehran has framed the protests, which began over economic grievances and quickly turned against the regime, as the continuation of that conflict and another Israeli-American plot to destabilize the Islamic Republic.
The level of violence employed by the state could also be intended to signal to external powers that the regime will do whatever it takes to ensure its survival and as a warning for any future interference in the country.
The government says that foreign-backed and trained “terrorists” have been carrying out atrocities aimed at sowing fear and chaos and has been very quick to point out the high death toll among security forces.
In more than two weeks of protests, more than 100 members of Iran’s security forces have been killed, according to the state-affiliated news agency Tasnim. State media has repeatedly aired montages showing protesters attacking security forces, alongside interviews with civilians questioning whether such attacks could be carried out by Iranians or by people motivated by economic grievances.
In an apparent warning for citizens to avoid joining the protests, state television aired a report from a morgue allegedly showing bystanders who were killed by “rioters.”
But protesters are angrier and more motivated to push back against security forces as the country’s crippled economy makes daily life difficult for civilians.
Here's how far the protests have spread across Iran
Protests in Iran have entered their third week, with almost 500 protesters reported killed, according to the US-based Human Rights Activist New Agency (HRANA).
While the communications blackout makes verifying information coming out of Iran difficult, the data used to mark each of the locations in the map below is assigned a confidence level by The Institute for the Study of War based on source reliability and quality of evidence.
Iran’s fractured social fabric at play as protests continue
More than two weeks into the nationwide protests in Iran, the country’s fractious social fabric has led multiple opposition groups to call on demonstrators to take to the streets against the regime.
Iran has a diverse population, including Persians, Azeris, Arabs, Baloch and Kurds. Under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s decades-long rule, the Islamic Republic largely managed to contain civil and ethnic unrest, despite mistreatment faced by some groups.
In a joint statement released last week, seven Kurdish groups expressed “full support” for the protesters.
Kurds make up some 10% of Iran’s population and are mostly settled along the borders with Iraq and Turkey.
They have been subject to “deep-rooted discrimination,” according to Amnesty International. A Kurdish rebellion in Iran would also be a major concern for neighboring Iraq and Turkey, both of which have large Kurdish minorities that have sought independence.
Other groups in Iran include Azeris, who make up around 16% of Iran’s overall population of 92 million, according to Minority Rights Group, along with four million Arabs and five million Baloch citizens.
The Balochistan People’s Party, an Iranian Baloch political group, called last week for nationwide protests and strikes.
Another exiled group that has garnered support from US conservatives is the Mujahadin-e Khalq (MeK), a shadowy dissident group that was once a US-designated terrorist organization but today counts prominent anti-Iran politicians as key allies.
Iran accuses it of terrorism, saying it carried out a series of attacks in the 1980s. The MeK denies those charges. The MeK has been supportive of recent protests.
Enabling Starlink a "simple" way for Trump to support Iranian protesters, analyst says
As the Trump administration weighs up its options regarding potential military intervention in Iran, one analyst has urged the president to enable direct-to-cell, a technology which connects modern devices to satellites and provides users with access to the internet while outside of coverage zones.
“The most obvious thing would be to turn on direct-to-cell, which connects any phone from 2020 onwards to Starlink,” Holly Dagres, Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute’s Viterbi Program on Iran and US Policy, told a panel during the Group Chat segment on CNN’s This Morning with Audie Cornish.
Starlink is a high-speed internet provider engineered by SpaceX and spearheaded by founder Elon Musk. Dagres explained that despite the communications black-out preventing thousands from contacting others inside or outside the country, Starlink is still functioning in Iran.
She added that any information coming from Iran currently is doing so through Starlink, “That’s a real simple ask,” she said of her suggestion that Trump could enable the technology.
But Dagres also emphasized the importance of listening to the protesters on the streets in cities across Iran, “Heed the calls of the Iranian people, which have been made for a long time, for a democratic transition,” she advised.
“They don’t want the regime, they want it gone. We should be, as an international community, listening to those calls,” the expert in Iran’s domestic policy added.
Here's why it has been challenging to get information on what's happening in Iran
Most Iranians have not had any internet connection or telephone access for more than three days, after authorities issued a nationwide shutdown on Thursday.
Because of this, people in Iran are unable to communicate as easily with each other or with the outside world, meaning that it is difficult for journalists to get an accurate picture of what is going on inside the country.
CNN has been able to contact some people on the ground when they have been able to get phone signal. Multiple eyewitnesses have described violence carried out against protesters, as well as “chaotic” scenes in hospitals.
But the blackout has prevented news agencies from being able to report on much of what is happening in Iran — especially in real time.
Amir Rashidi, the director of digital rights and security at Iran-focused human rights organization Miaan Group, told CNN yesterday he had “never, ever seen such a thing” before.
While authorities in Iran have imposed internet shutdowns in the past, the most recent blackout has some key differences, Rashidi said.
Even media outlets affiliated with the Iranian state and security apparatus appear to have been hit by the shutdown, with significantly fewer frequent updates than usual since the blackout began, if any.
As protests across Iran enter their third week, how did they get to this point?
As Iran enters its third week of protests, the death toll as a result of the demonstrations has also increased dramatically.
Almost 500 protesters have so far been killed, according to the US-based rights group Human Rights Activist New Agency (HRANA). CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers.
Here’s a look back at how the current events started and how the protests got to this point:
- December 28: Shopkeepers and bazaar merchants begin to take to the streets, chanting anti-regime slogans over their inability to pay rent after the country’s currency - the rial - hits record lows.
- December 31: One member of Iran’s Basij paramilitary force is killed and 13 others are injured when protests turn violent in the city of Kuhdasht in Lorestan province, according to state media. This is the first known death linked to the protests.
- January 1: At least five people are killed in two separate clashes with police in different provinces. At least three of the killings occur when protesters storm a police station in the city of Azna in Iran’s western Lorestan province, state-affiliated Fars News Agency says.
- January 2: US President Donald Trump warns that his country will intervene if protesters continue to be killed. Iran’s national security chief Ali Larijani tells Trump on X that US interference would cause “disruption across the entire region and the destruction of American interests.”
- January 4: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voices his support for the protesters. The same day, Iranian security forces raid a hospital in Ilam, where they arrest wounded protesters, a common tactic by the security apparatus.
- January 8: Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urges Iranians to “take to the streets and, as a united front, shout your demands.” Footage verified by CNN shows mass protests across the country. Authorities cut internet access and telephone lines immediately after the protests begin.
- January 9: Authorities crack down violently on dissent as protesters continue to march. Eyewitnesses report seeing security forces brandishing military weapons and shooting at people, with scenes in hospitals described as “completely chaotic.”
- January 11: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blames his country’s ongoing unrest on foreign-linked “terrorists,” who he says have burned bazaars, mosques and cultural sites. The death toll from the protests climbs rapidly, with hundreds reported killed according to a tally from HRANA.
CNN’s Tal Shalev, Dana Karni and Billy Stockwell contributed to this reporting.
Pro-government rallies occur across Iran as officials claim anti-government protests are "foreign-backed"
Pro-government rallies took place across Iran today as the country enters a third week of nationwide anti-government protests.
Officials addressed pro-government supporters, calling the anti-government protests “foreign-backed riots.”
Demonstrators waved the Iranian flag and chanted slogans in support of the Islamic Republic.
Iranian state agencies had called for nationwide marches on Monday in support of the regime, which has faced down more than two weeks of growing protests fueled by spiraling anger over the economy, the government’s authoritarian rule and a deadly crackdown on demonstrators.
