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Following a joint call by seven Kurdistan Iran parties for a general strike in support of the Iranian national uprising, shopkeepers and bazaar merchants across Kurdistan cities and other Kurdish-majority areas kept their businesses closed on Thursday, January 8, 2026 (18 Dey), signaling organized economic pressure alongside street-level protest momentum.
Iranian-American comedian Max Amini said during one of his concerts that he supports Prince Reza Pahlavi and led the crowd in chanting “Javid Shah.” He also called on Iranians of all political orientations to back Prince Reza Pahlavi for the transition period, arguing that after Iran is free, people should decide their preferred system of government through the ballot box.
Thirty-nine political prisoners currently held in Evin Prison and former political detainees issued a statement endorsing Prince Reza Pahlavi’s national call for synchronized chanting on Thursday and Friday, 18–19 Dey, at 8 p.m., both in the streets and from homes. The signatories say they will also join “from inside prisons,” repeating the slogan “This is the final battle, Pahlavi will return — Long live the Shah,” and describe the coordinated action as a symbol of national solidarity and civil resistance against repression, injustice, and the violation of citizens’ rights. The statement emphasizes what it calls the Iranian people’s right to peaceful protest, free expression, and self-determination, and says the group stands alongside Prince Reza Pahlavi and the public, pledging continued support for civic actions aimed at freedom, human dignity, and a free future for Iran. The statement lists 39 signatories by name. A group of political and religious prisoners includes Farshteh Souri, Souri Babaei Chegini, Hojjatollah Rafiei, Behfar Lalehzari, Saleh Khamoushi, Hossein Estaji Aryan, Azad Peykari Fard, Meysam Gholami, Amin Sokhanvar, Kazem Alinajad Baranlou, Alireza Najari, Ali Asghar Hassani Rad, Bakhtiar Sasani, Morsal Ketabi, Vahid Ghadirzadeh, Ali Jahaniyan, Mohsen Khanmohammadi, Saeed Nasimi, Meysam Mohammadi, Mohammad Daniali, Gholamhossein Boroujerdi, Reza Behrouz Moradi, Hassan Ghorannevis, Mojtaba Ebrahimi, Mehdi Savarolia, Afshar Mounesi, Ali Maghsadjou, Mohammad Soltani, Hossein Koushki Nejad, Yavar Fathollahi, Milad Hasanlouei, Mohammadreza Azizmohammadi, Mohammad Rezazian, Hamed Mohammadi, Farshid Lahouti, Yashar Ghazai, Masoud Vazifeh, Reza Norouzi, and Sohrab Hassankhani.
Social-media footage from the 11th day of Iran’s uprising indicates that residents in Gonabad, Razavi Khorasan, remained in the streets on Wednesday night as government forces moved in to attack and opened fire. The images and accompanying accounts point to an escalating confrontation as night-time demonstrations persist despite intensified security pressure.
Social-media footage from the 11th day of Iran’s uprising indicates that during protests in Abhar, Zanjan province, on the night of Wednesday, 17 Dey, government forces attacked demonstrators and deployed tear gas. The reported use of crowd-control agents suggests an intensified effort to break up nighttime gatherings as protests continue to spread beyond major urban centers.
Residents in Sureshjan, in Iran’s Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, were reported to be out in the streets on the night of Wednesday, 17 Dey, chanting “Death to Khamenei.” The شعار reflects continued night-time mobilization and an explicitly anti-leadership tone as protests persist beyond major urban centers.
The Baluchistan People’s Party said in a statement that joining Iran’s nationwide protests and strikes is the only path to saving the people of Baluchistan and Sistan. The group framed active participation as not merely a political choice but a historical necessity to achieve freedom, justice, and a dignified life. It also declared firm support for the new wave of demonstrations and labor actions, describing them as a potential prelude to the collapse of political repression and an unaccountable authoritarian order, and urged residents to act in unity with other parts of Iran to visibly demonstrate nationwide solidarity.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement condemning comments by U.S. government officials about the nationwide uprising, calling them “interventionist.” The ministry claimed the remarks are not driven by concern for Iranians, but rather reflect a continuation of “maximum pressure,” psychological warfare, and attempts to incite instability inside Iran.
HRANA, a human-rights outlet, reported in its latest assessment of the nationwide uprising that over the past 11 days, protests and street gatherings have been recorded at least at 348 locations across 111 cities in all 31 provinces. The report says a total of 2,217 people were detained or had their identities recorded, including 558 individual arrests and 1,659 cases logged as group detentions or without full identification—an approach HRANA describes as reflecting broad, low-detail security operations aimed at field control. HRANA adds that part of the crackdown has occurred not only at protest sites but also via summons, on-the-ground identification, and follow-up actions, which it interprets as intended to create longer-term psychological pressure and deterrence. The outlet further reports 38 deaths during the 11 days—34 protesters (including five under 18) and four law-enforcement/security personnel—while noting multiple reports of injuries, with exact figures still being compiled due to restricted access to field information.
A group of 555 teachers issued a statement on Wednesday, 17 Dey, declaring support for nationwide protesters and urging educators across Iran to stand with the public. While acknowledging that economic hardship and cost-of-living pressures have been major protest catalysts, the signatories argued the crisis is deeper than price swings or mismanagement, pointing to “47 years” of rotating governments and parliaments—14 administrations and 12 legislatures—during which problems not only went unresolved but became broader and more destructive. They said the “root of all problems” lies in the Islamic Republic’s political structure and its foundations, arguing that only a fundamental change toward a rational, secular, development-oriented, democratic system can halt the deepening spiral. The statement also called for national unity despite political differences, warning that competition among rival political camps weakens collective capacity and increases the regime’s chances of survival, and urged security forces to avoid repression and lethal violence—insisting protesters are not the country’s enemy and that refusing unlawful, inhumane orders is a moral and historical duty.
Iran’s contract oil workers’ organizing bodies said workers at two South Pars facilities and Kangan gathered in solidarity with street protests and against their own livelihood pressures, demanding the removal of contractors and an end to what they described as “mafia-like” contracting networks. They said the strike will continue until authorities respond, and reported that the action culminated in a joint rally of residents and workers in Kangan, where security forces allegedly raided the crowd. The Arkan-e Sales council said police and plainclothes personnel in the Vahdat Street area attacked protesters and workers with direct fire despite banners highlighting economic grievances.
Two labor groups reported that workers at Asaluyeh refineries and the Port of Kangan held protest gatherings on Wednesday, 17 Dey, escalating into a full work stoppage. The Organizing Council of Iran’s Contract Oil Workers (Arkan-e Sales) said workers pushed past security barriers and “false promises” from South Pars management, declaring they are striking in support of ongoing nationwide protests and that their “battle over livelihoods” will continue until demands are fully met. Market impact: Any sustained disruption risk around South Pars-linked operations and the Assaluyeh hub can raise energy and petrochemical supply uncertainty, lifting regional risk premia and adding pressure to domestic sentiment and the currency.