What we know
• Some personnel have been urged to leave a US military base in Qatar as a “precaution,” as President Donald Trump considers taking military action against Iran. He warned the regime against executing protesters and said the US would take “strong action” in response.
• Iranian officials have pledged to swiftly try and punish anti-government protesters, with officials warning that anyone arrested in the past few days is considered guilty of waging “internal war” against the regime. An Iranian protester may be executed today, according to the US State Department and a family member.
• At least 2,400 protesters have been killed since the start of Iran’s brutal crackdown last month, according to a US-based rights group, with a blackout is still in place. The atmosphere in Tehran is “extremely heavy and tense” one resident told CNN, and a regime-led funeral procession took place there today to mourn security forces and civilians the government says were killed in protests.
Here’s what to know about Iran’s internet blackout
Iran is in the sixth day of a government-imposed internet blackout — expected to last for the “next week or two” — as the regime cracks down on mass protests.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a Wednesday statement that relevant institutions will make a final decision on internet access “in the next week or two.” The IRGC claimed that unrestricted internet access was increasing violence in the streets.
- Iran’s National Information Network has been activated. This is Iran’s domestic internet that enables the regime to block foreign websites and track users.
- The IRGC said Wednesday that “almost all domestic websites are available” on the National Information Network, and “domestic social networks have also been relatively activated.”
- CNN previously reported that some landline and mobile phone users were able to call abroad on Tuesday for the first time, despite the blackout. Calls in the reverse direction are still not connecting, however, according to journalists working for CNN.
- The service Proton VPN, which many people affected by the censorship in Iran use to circumvent the national internet, said on January 8 that it saw a dip and then a complete shutdown of its Virtual Private Network (VPN) sessions originating from Iran.
- Internet watchdog NetBlocks said early on Wednesday that the blackout has surpassed 132 hours, and the true number of anti-government protestors killed “is obscured by the absence of connectivity.”
Here's what we know about Erfan Soltani, a protester who may be executed in Iran today
Iranian protester Erfan Soltani may be executed today for his role in the mass anti-government protests that have roiled the country in recent weeks. Here’s what we know about Soltani and his case:
- In a post on X yesterday, the US State Department said that Iranian authorities were planning to execute Erfan Soltani today. CNN has spoken to a relative who confirmed this.
- Hengaw, a Norway-based human rights organization, reported that Soltani was arrested at his home last Thursday in connection with protests in Fardis, a city in the central province of Karaj. Four days after his arrest, his family was told that his execution had been scheduled.
- The 26-year-old’s family has been denied access to any information regarding his case, including the charges against him, Hengaw reported Monday. His sister, a licensed lawyer, has tried to pursue the case, “but authorities have so far prevented her from accessing the case file,” according to Hengaw.
- Soltani’s trial was rushed, his family member told CNN. Experts have told CNN that rushed death sentences and sham trials are a common occurrence in Iran.
- Soltani’s family has been granted only “a brief opportunity for a final visit” before his execution, Hengaw reported.
- The relative who spoke to CNN yesterday called on US President Donald Trump, who has encouraged those demonstrating across Iran, to come to the aid of protesters, as well as Soltani. “Our demand now is that Trump truly stand behind the words he said, because the Iranian people came to the streets based on those statements,” she said. “An unarmed population trusted these words and is now under gunfire. I beg you, please do not let Erfan be executed. Please.”
Graphic video shows scores of bodies including that of a teenager at makeshift morgue near Tehran
Video footage from a makeshift mortuary in Iran shows at least 100 dead in black body bags, one labelled with the date of birth of a 16-year-old, after a bloody crackdown on protests against the regime.
The social media footage, which was posted on X on Tuesday and verified by CNN, shows body bags lined up inside the Forensic Diagnostic and Laboratory Center of Tehran Province near the town of Kahrizak, about an hour outside of Tehran.
More than 100 bodies – most of which appear to be male – can be seen in the two video clips. Some are visible, their faces still covered with blood. Some body bags had been placed outside on the street and on trolleys.
Bullet wounds are visible on many of the bodies. One man appears to have at least 25 bullet wounds in his chest.
Some of the body bags have the names, dates of birth and national ID numbers of the deceased written on them in Farsi. One label carried a date of birth of March 21, 2009, indicating the deceased was just 16.
Hundreds of people can be seen gathering around the body bags, crying as they search for loved ones.
CNN verified the location by matching the exterior and layout of the buildings with satellite imagery. The video caption says it was shot on January 10, but it could have been filmed earlier. The nationwide internet blackout in Iran has caused delays in some images of the protests and those killed being posted online.
A closer look at Iran's political system
More than 18,000 people have been arrested for participating in anti-regime protests across Iran in the last two and a half weeks, with many calling for an ousting of the country’s current leadership.
The exiled son of Iran’s last shah has sought to position himself as a credible opposition figure, encouraging Iranians to go out and protest. Reza Pahlavi is based in the US, and experts have told CNN he is a divisive figure who has not detailed how he would lead Iran if he got into power.
How does the country’s political system work, and what does political opposition inside the country actually look like?
Iran’s political system
Iran has a dual political system, Maryam Alemzadeh, an associate professor in the history and politics of Iran at the University of Oxford told CNN.
The electoral part of this system, made up of the president’s office and parliament, “resembles some western democracies,” she said, but it is “overseen and manipulated by the non-electoral part,” which is made up of the office of the supreme leader and many institutions under his direct control.
Another “lesser-known complication” in the country’s political system is “the level of informality prevalent within Iranian political and - more importantly - economic infrastructure,” the professor continued.
“Ad hoc, non-professional, and opaque decision-making has been a feature of the ruling institutions” since the country’s revolution in 1979, she said, which has made “understanding the nuances and predicting the moves of the leadership difficult.”
The opposition
In terms of domestic opposition, the Iranian government “has actively and effectively suppressed any attempt for organized opposition at home over the past decades,” arresting and silencing any leaders that emerge, she said.
Though Pahlavi has emerged as a potential opposition leader, the extent of his appeal is debated, according to Alemzadeh.
“While Pahlavi is nominally the most prominent opposition leader, the extent of his preparation for actual governance is very questionable,” she said. If the current regime in Iran did collapse, “it is not clear how Pahlavi plans to deal with remnants of the Islamic Republic - e.g., its massive police and security apparatus, its spider web of corrupt individuals benefitting from the system, and its relatively small but existing lay supporters,” she said.
Turkey is in discussions with US, Iran to push for talks, but it may be “too late,” source says
Turkey is in touch with both Iranian and American officials about returning to the negotiating table, a regional diplomatic source told CNN on Wednesday, but warned that it may be “too late.”
“Currently, there is talk about negotiating. The pace of talks is slow, (and) at this speed might end up being too late,” the source said.
Iranian authorities are allegedly charging some people to retrieve bodies of loved ones killed in protests
Iranian authorities are allegedly charging some families to retrieve the bodies of loved ones killed in the mass anti-regime protests and resulting crackdown, two Iranians told CNN.
After Robina Aminian, a 23-year-old fashion design student, was killed by gunfire at one such protest, her family went to Tehran to find her body, her uncle Nezar Minouei told CNN.
“Her mother, screaming, crying and yelling, and with a lot of difficulty, finally was able to get access to the area where the bodies were kept so she could begin looking for her daughter’s body,” Minouei said. “She found her daughter’s body and essentially had to steal it.”
When the family returned to their hometown of Kermanshah, “they heard that the authorities were at their home looking… to make them pay for it.”
They buried Aminian in an unmarked grave by hand without any ceremony “out of fear that the government would take the body back.”
Another Iranian, who visited a cemetery in Tehran and wished to remain anonymous for security concerns, shared similar testimony, saying the authorities ”are forcing people to pay to retrieve their bodies from the hospitals and morgues.”
“In some cases, they haven’t been allowing people to even retrieve the bodies,” they added.
This is not a new tactic for the regime. Similar reports emerged following a previous wave of protests that swept the country in 2019, and were referenced by Reuters, the US State Department and pro-reform news outlet IranWire at the time. The charge depended on the number of bullets lodged in the body, the State Department said.
“The hospitals are totally full, and the government is searching logs and cameras for protestors who have been killed or hurt,” the Iranian who visited the cemetery said. “It was so busy. People couldn’t even bury their loved ones.”
Some American personnel told to evacuate military base in Qatar, US official says
Some personnel at the US’ largest military base in the Middle East have been urged to leave, a US official told CNN on Wednesday, as the Trump administration considers taking military action against Iran.
The official described the directive to some personnel to leave Al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a “precaution” given current tensions in the region.
The base was targeted by Iran in June after the US struck Iran’s nuclear facilities. Now, as US President Donald Trump mulls potential strikes on Iran, the base — which is home to around 10,000 American troops — could become a target once again.
The US took steps to evacuate the base in June during the Israel-Iran war, before the it struck Iran’s nuclear facilities.
Catch up on the latest from Iran as authorities discuss punishment for protesters
At least 2,403 protesters have been killed in Iran since the anti-government demonstrations began in the country more than two weeks ago, according to the US-based rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
With more than 18,000 protesters arrested, authorities are beginning to speak out about the punishments they might suffer.
If you’re just joining us, here are some key developments from the ground today:
- A 26-year-old protester may be executed today for his participation in the protests, according to a relative and the US State Department. Erfan Soltani was not allowed a lawyer or retrial after being sentenced to death in a rushed trial, his family member told CNN.
- The head of Iran’s judiciary has said that protesters charged with violence or “terrorist” activities will be given “priority for trial and punishment,” according to state media. Authorities have accused many protesters of being “rioters and terrorists,” claiming that some of those demonstrating were part of foreign attempts to cause chaos in the county.
- Anyone who was arrested for taking part in protests from January 8 onwards is guilty of taking part in “an internal war,” Iran’s Minister of Justice Amir Hossein Rahimi said today. Notably, January 8 was the day Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi urged Iranians to “take to the streets and, as a united front, shout your demands.”
- January 8 - last Thursday - was also the day authorities first cut internet access and telephone lines across the country. This communications blackout is now in its sixth day. Even SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet terminals, used by Iranians to circumvent the restrictions, were jammed using what experts describe as military-grade technology.
CNN’s Isobel Yeung, Augusta Anthony, Helen Regan, Mostafa Salem and Lauren Kent contributed to this reporting.
CNN obtains exclusive testimony from a doctor inside Iran
As Iran goes well into a sixth day under an internet blackout, the government’s crackdown on protesters has been largely undocumented, as authorities move to crush dissent.
But rare harrowing footage has has emerged of Iranians screaming in anguish as they gather beside body bags in a makeshift morgue.
CNN and pro-reform activist outlet IranWire have obtained exclusive testimony from a doctor inside Iran, offering a rare firsthand account of what he has been witnessing during the unrest.
Watch the full report below
Gulf Arab nations in diplomatic push to prevent military escalation in Iran
Three US-allied Gulf Arab nations have launched behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to prevent military action on Iran amid threats of strikes by US President Donald Trump.
Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Oman are concerned that military action against Iran could have wide-ranging consequences for the Middle East, a regional official with knowledge of the matter told CNN.
“Any military escalation will have consequences for the wider region, including its security and economy,” the official said.
Trump has warned Iran against killing protesters, saying the US would take “strong action.” He has also encouraged protesters to keep demonstrating, saying “help is on its way.”
Some Arab governments have also warned that an attack “could have the opposite effect” for ongoing protests, and “unite Iranians on both sides behind the regime,” the official said.
CNN has reached out to the governments of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar for comment.
Senior Iranian officials have warned that any military attack by the US on Iran would trigger reprisals targeting American interests across the region. Several Gulf Arab countries host US military bases and personnel, facilities that Iran has previously threatened or targeted.
Pakistani students and workers returning from Iran in droves amid brutal crackdown
More than 300 Pakistanis have returned from Iran in the last couple of days as the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on dissent continues, according to local officials.
Officials said the number of returnees, which includes students, workers, religious pilgrims and tourists, is rising steadily as more Pakistanis opt to return home.
The deputy commissioner of the southwestern city of Gwadar, Naqeebullah Kakar, said that more than 125 students are among the hundreds of Pakistanis who have returned so far through the border crossings at Gwadar and Chagai, which neighbor Iran.
Fifty-one male and female students returned on Tuesday. Returnees also included families and children, Kakar said.
He added that the Pakistani embassy in Iran and the foreign ministry have activated special measures to ensure the safe return of citizens, and the district administration has made special arrangements to facilitate the returnees and support their onward travel.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry said Tuesday that it set up “a monitoring and coordination cell to track any developments in Iran,” which is primarily aimed at helping Pakistani people get back home.
Hundreds rally in Sydney, Australia in support of Iran protests
Hundreds of protesters rallied in Sydney’s Town Hall in Australia on Wednesday to show support for Iranians facing a brutal government crackdown.
Waving Iran’s green, red and white tricolor – emblazoned with the lion-and-sun symbol used before the 1979 Islamic Revolution – demonstrators held placards reading “Iranians deserve freedom.” Protesters were also heard chanting “Down with Khamenei,” referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iranians abroad fear for their families safety back home who are under heavy surveillance. One Australian protester, Mehdi, told the Reuters news agency he had been “cowering for a while” to protect his family, but felt it was now time to speak out.
“I’m here for the boys and girls in Iran to hear that us, the seniors, that started this movement, we support them,” he said.
“My biggest regret is not being there in the streets to support them.”
While US President Donald Trump has not made a final decision on possible intervention in Iran, he has repeatedly expressed support for the protest movement and at times suggested the idea of regime change in the country. That has raised hopes among some Iranians and members of the diaspora.
Another Sydney protester, Sam Abassi, called for foreign intervention.
“Have the US intervene,” Abassi told Reuters. “We’re really looking for Donald Trump and his crew to come in and stand behind the people because we’ve got nothing there.”
The reported death toll from the Iran protests has increased rapidly in recent days
The amount of protesters reported to have died in the demonstrations across Iran has soared in the last two days, according to a tally by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
On Monday, the number of protesters killed in just over two weeks of demonstrations passed 500, according to HRANA.
Yesterday, that figure soared to 1850, then jumped to more than 2,400 a few hours later. Compared to other periods of unrest, this is the highest death toll in the country during protests in decades.
HRANA has told CNN that its figures are based only on cases it has been able to identify and verify. But with Iran largely offline because of a state-imposed communications blackout, the actual toll could be even higher. CNN is unable to independently verify HRANA’s casualty numbers or arrest figures.
Iran has yet to take responsibility or admit that it has killed protesters, instead claiming that protesters were killed by “rioters” employed by Israel and the United States.
CNN’s Billy Stockwell, Max Saltman, Zahid Mahmood and Mostafa Salem contributed to this reporting.
Regime holds funeral procession for 100 security forces and civilians killed in protests
A regime-led funeral procession has begun in Tehran, state-affiliated media outlets reported Wednesday, to mourn the nearly 100 security forces and civilians the government says were killed in recent protests.
The ceremony is meant to honor “the martyrs of the terrorist war by American mercenaries and the Zionist regime,” Fars News Agency reported.
Images showed crowds gathered outside the University of Tehran, dressed in black and waving Iranian and Palestinian flags. Coffins bearing photographs of the dead – including children – were on display. Some mourners held up pictures of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini, and Qasem Soleimani, a top Iranian general killed in a US airstrike in 2020.
Iranian media has reported that more than 100 members of Iran’s security forces were killed in the protests. On Tuesday, Tasnim news agency reported that “the number of martyrs is significant,” and that “about 100” of those identified as “martyrs” are scheduled to be buried Wednesday.
More than 2,400 protesters have been killed and at least 18,000 people have been arrested since Iran launched a brutal crackdown to crush dissent last month, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
"Extremely heavy and tense atmosphere" in Tehran, resident tells CNN
The atmosphere in Tehran is “extremely heavy and tense” after a deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, a Tehran resident told CNN.
“Everyone knows a massive massacre has taken place, creating an extremely heavy and tense atmosphere,” said the 47-year-old man, who asked to remain anonymous due to security fears.
“People are traumatized and even find it difficult to speak about what happened.”
The past two days have been “quiet,” the man said, with travel between neighborhoods banned after 8 pm and a “semi-military situation in effect,” though people were still gathering “within their own areas.”
“Police usually tolerate chants and gatherings, but the moment they sense movement or escalation, they respond violently,” he said. “My friend witnessed live gunfire at close range.”
He said there was only partial connection to the internet, with access “limited to one or two state-approved applications related to schools, universities, and banks” and most people completely cut off.
A state-imposed internet blackout has made piecing together the death toll from the crackdown on the anti-government demonstrations difficult. At least 2,403 protestors have been killed since the unrest began in December, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), but the confirmed toll could rise as more information emerges.
“Because of this blackout, most people inside Iran have not seen the Kahrizak videos or other recent footage,” the man said, referencing videos showing rows of body bags in a makeshift morgue. “News is spreading slowly, mostly by word of mouth.”
“Politically, most people are not aligned with any group or figure. Survival comes first: fear for their lives, then the struggle for basic livelihood.”
Internet likely to remain disconnected for "next one to two weeks," state-affiliated news agency says
The internet in Iran is likely to remain disconnected for the “next one to two weeks,” according to the Iranian state-affiliated Fars News Agency.
As we’ve reported, Iran is in the sixth day of a nationwide internet blackout, imposed by the regime as it cracked down on mass anti-government protests, though some though some landline and mobile phone users were able to call abroad on Tuesday for the first time.
The blackout has made it all but impossible to reach Iran from the outside world, making it difficult to understand the true toll of the crackdown.
Anyone on the streets from January 8 onwards is guilty of taking part in "internal war," Iran's Minister of Justice says
Iran’s Minister of Justice Amir Hossein Rahimi has said anyone who was arrested on the streets from January 8 onwards is guilty of taking part in “an internal war.”
In an interview with Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency, Rahimi distinguished between the current protests and those before Thursday, January 8, which he said the government considers legitimate protests over economic grievances.
Rahimi added that the penalties and punishments protestors receive will vary based on their “crimes” and the activities in which they participated.
For context: Rahimi’s comments come after the head of Iran’s judiciary warned that protesters charged with violence or “terrorist” activities will be given “priority for trial and punishment,” raising concerns for the thousands of people reported to have been arrested during mass anti-government demonstrations.
At least 18,434 people have been arrested since all protests began, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Blackout in Iran enters its sixth day
Iran’s brutal crackdown on protesters has largely been conducted under the cover of a state-imposed communications blackout, which started last Thursday.
In the days afterward, Iran became nearly impossible to reach from the outside world.
Even SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet terminals, used by Iranians to circumvent the restrictions, were jammed using what experts describe as military-grade technology.
Protesters to be given priority "for trial and punishment," head of Iran’s judiciary says
Protesters in Iran charged with violence or “terrorist” activities will be given “priority for trial and punishment,” the head of the country’s judiciary said, according to state media.
His comments raise concerns for the thousands of people reported to have been arrested during mass anti-government demonstrations.
Mohseni-Eje’i had spent five hours at a Tehran prison reviewing the status and case files of those recently detained, state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) reported Wednesday.
He added that the trials of what he called “the main elements” among protesters will be held publicly.
Mohseni-Eje’i has been sanctioned by the United States and European Union for human rights violations against the Iranian people, including overseeing the detention and torture of activists, journalists and protesters.
More than 18,137 people have been arrested since the start of the current protests, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Concerns are mounting for 26-year-old Iranian protester Erfan Soltani, after the US State Department said Iranian authorities were planning on executing him today.
Soltani was not allowed a lawyer or a retrial after being sentenced to death, and his trial was rushed, according to a family member.
Rushed death sentences and sham trials are a common occurrence in Iran, experts have told CNN.
Grandson of Iran's late supreme leader says Iranians would suffer if the regime fell
Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of Iran’s Islamic republic, has said that if the country’s theocratic regime were to fall, Iranians would suffer.
“The day after the Islamic Republic, there is no security, freedom, or welfare in the country,” Khomeini said in an interview with Iran state media IRIB broadcast Tuesday.
Khomeini is the grandson of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who oversaw the 1979 revolution and the overthrow of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, a Western-installed monarch, paving the way for clerical rule.
He claimed an ISIS-like “terrorism” was driving the unrest, saying “the events of Thursday evening and onward had nothing to do with protests.”
Violence in the protests, which exploded last month over widespread economic grievances, ramped up Thursday night after authorities cut internet access and launched a brutal crackdown on protesters, whom they have called “rioters and terrorists.”
On US President Donald Trump – who has said his administration is monitoring the deadly protests in Iran and is continuing to weigh potential military options – Hassan Khomeini said, “Trump closes his own eyes on the issue of human rights.”
Future leaders? Iran’s current Supreme Leader is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who has been in power since 1989 following the death of his predecessor Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
It remains unclear whether Iran’s establishment has any future successors but analysts cite potential candidates like Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the current leader, as well as Hassan Khomeini. Both are themselves clerics.
