Iranian security forces killed several protesters this week as demonstrations entered their sixth day.
The killings come amid President Donald Trump threatening to take action if the regime kills people who are demonstrating against it.
“If Iran shoots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump posted to Truth Social early Friday morning. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
So far, about six to seven protesters are reported to have been killed, with at least six losing their lives in direct shootings as the regime’s security forces brutally crack down on civil unrest, according to the Center for Human Rights in Iran and the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. All of those killed were males, including a 15-year-old and others mostly in their 20s and 30s.
The Iranian regime has confirmed only the death of Amirhesam Khodayari, describing him as a member of the Basij militia. Hengaw, a human rights group, said he was a protester and reported that authorities pressured his family to label him a militia member as a condition of returning his body, reported the Washington Post.
During Khodayari’s funeral, his father confirmed he was not part of the Basij militia, a video posted to social media shows.
Sixth day of anti-establishment protests in Iran
During the funeral of Amir Hesam Khodayari Fard, killed in the recent protests in Koohdasht, his father said that despite Iranian state media reports his son was not a member of the paramilitary Basij force.pic.twitter.com/EqlJLs0Uqy— Ghoncheh Habibiazad | غنچه (@GhonchehAzad) January 2, 2026
Protesters have escalated their opposition to security forces, including setting fire to a police station in the city of Azna.
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Videos posted to social media show the chaos erupting all over the country, including mourners chasing away security forces from Khodayari’s funeral, as well as regime forces opening fire on demonstrators. Protesters have been heard chanting anti-regime slogans such as “Freedom” and “Death to the Dictator.”
Sixth day of anti-establishment protests in Iran
Video shows a group of protesters in Marvdasht, southern Fars Province.
29.878562198292812, 52.807091711608535@GeoConfirmed pic.twitter.com/6bOx5Nkjq9
— Ghoncheh Habibiazad | غنچه (@GhonchehAzad) January 2, 2026
Protesters have also reportedly celebrated the sixth anniversary of the United States’ assassination of Qassem Soleimani by setting a statue of him in Lali, Khuzestan, on fire.
Last week, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the merchants who initially sparked the protests over economic despair had “legitimate demands,” but the regime has since sought to distinguish those grievances from the broader, full-scale anti-regime demonstrations that followed.
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, echoed that position in response to Trump’s threat, saying the regime differentiates “between the position of the protesting merchants and the actions of the sabotage elements.”
“Trump must realize that U.S. intervention in this internal matter will lead to destabilizing the entire region and destroying American interests,” he said on X, adding that the United States “should pay attention to the safety of their soldiers.”
The speaker of Iran’s parliament, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, posted to X that “all American centers and forces across the entire region will be legitimate targets for us in response to any potential adventurism.”
While Iranian regime figures continue to make threats on X, all Iranians are barred by their government from using the social media website themselves.
In June, the Iranian regime attacked Al-Udeid, the American airbase in Qatar that is home to 10,000 American service members. The United States has significant numbers of troops within the range of Iranian missiles at bases all around the Middle East.
The Iranian rial has dropped 1.42 million to the dollar, losing more than 56 percent of its value over the past six months, fueling inflation and a 72% increase in food prices from last year. Pezeshkian has cited the economic deterioration as a reason to take a more conciliatory stance toward the merchants, saying the unrest reflects the government’s failure to address the financial turmoil.
“We are to blame… Do not look for America or anyone else to blame. We must serve properly so that people are satisfied with us…. It is us who have to find a solution to these problems,” he said, Reuters reported.
The 1979 Iranian revolution, which overthrew the monarchical government of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and ushered in the Islamic regime, was fueled in part by bazaar merchants who allied with the mullahs and helped sustain mass strikes and economic pressure against the state.
During a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week, President Trump said he would back more Israeli military strikes on Iran if Tehran continues to develop ballistic missiles or pursue nuclear capabilities.
“The missiles, yes. The nuclear, fast,” Trump said. “One would be yes, absolutely, the other was, we’ll do it immediately.”
The president also commented on the protests, which were only beginning, stating that the Iranian people were expressing discontent as their country suffers from inflation, a “bust” economy, and the threat of violence or death when protesting.
“Every time they have a rioter or someone forms a group, little or big, they start shooting people. You know, they kill people,” Trump said. “They’re vicious, vicious people.”
The demonstrations mark the largest unrest since the sweeping 2022 protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who died after being detained by Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating hijab regulations. Her death ignited nationwide protests under the slogan “Women, Life, Freedom,” before the regime moved to crush the movement through mass arrests, deadly force, and executions. That chant has also been recited during the current wave of protests.
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