2026/01/23Eyewitness: Armored Vehicles and “Bloodied Streets” in Mashhad Crackdown
An Iranian woman in Mashhad told Iran International that security forces used armored personnel carriers and carried out night-time violence that left, in her words, “rivers of blood,” while streets were cleaned in the mornings ahead of further crackdowns. She said many wounded protesters avoided hospitals due to fear of security presence and arrest, leading to improvised home treatment supported by volunteers. She also disputed official fatality figures, claiming roughly 150 people were killed on the first night before a formal shoot-to-kill order, including 40 deaths in the city’s Gorgan neighborhood, and alleged casualties rose sharply after the order—far exceeding the numbers publicly reported.
2026/01/23Report: Poldokhtar boxing chief Ali Alipour dies a day after detention
Information cited by Iran International says Ali Alipour, head of the Poldokhtar boxing board, died one day after being detained during the protests. The report states he was arrested on 19 Dey 1404, released later that night, and then died the following morning from an apparent heart attack. The death is being described as suspicious alongside unverified claims circulated to Iran International alleging torture and injections of unknown substances administered to detainees. These claims have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Rasht witness account: Alleged shootings of people trying to aid the wounded; arson and nightly lockdown claims
A witness message from Rasht alleges security forces encircled injured protesters to block assistance and fired directly at anyone who tried to help, at times forming a ring around the wounded to prevent people from approaching. The account cites an incident on Takhti Street in which a bleeding injured person was allegedly shot alongside a citizen who attempted to provide aid, with the helper reportedly killed by a headshot by officers said to have been hiding in a nearby alley. The same message claims security forces hid in side streets and shot at passersby, while also alleging widespread arson and damage across the city—saying roughly 90% of mosques were set on fire or vandalized, part of Rasht’s Khomeini prayer hall (mosalla) burned on 18 Dey, and banks on main streets were heavily damaged or destroyed. The witness further claimed that a de facto curfew or martial-law conditions in Rasht begin from dusk. These allegations are extremely serious and have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Iran’s Intelligence Ministry says it detained a “factory owner” for joining protests
Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence announced the arrest of a “factory owner,” saying the detention was linked to alleged participation in the ongoing protests. No further details about the individual’s identity, charges, or legal process were provided in the announcement.
2026/01/23Iran MP opposes easing internet curbs, warns it would fuel “violent image” abroad
Abolfazl Aboutorabi, the Majles representative for Najafabad, said restoring access to social networks and lifting internet restrictions would be a “big mistake.” He argued that “counter-revolutionary” groups are poised to exploit any easing to portray the system as violent, which he said could carry international consequences for the country.
2026/01/23Report: 37-year-old Mohammad Mirzaei Noshabadi killed by live fire in Sari on 18 Dey
Information received says Mohammad Mirzaei Noshabadi, 37, a building installations worker, was killed in Sari on the night of 18 Dey after being shot in the abdomen with live ammunition by government forces. The circumstances described have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Report: 19-year-old amateur boxer Sepehr Ebrahimi killed in Andisheh, Tehran
Media reports say Sepehr Ebrahimi, a 19-year-old amateur boxer, was killed in Andisheh (Tehran province) during the ongoing protests, with the reports attributing his death to Islamic Republic security forces. Further details on the circumstances and timing have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Isfahan: Reports say streets were washed after gunfire to erase signs of crackdown
Messages from witnesses in Isfahan claim that after extensive shooting at protesters, government forces attempted to remove evidence of the crackdown by washing streets and collecting traces of blood and clashes, in an effort to clear visible signs of repression from public areas. These accounts have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Akhavan: Laying groundwork for Iran's “transitional justice” and a potential “Nuremberg moment.”
Payam Akhavan, described as a former UN war-crimes prosecutor and scheduled to speak at the UN Human Rights Council’s special session on Iran, told Reuters that “the scale of these crimes is unprecedented.” He said efforts are underway to prepare the foundations for transitional justice in Iran—positioning the work for a potential “Nuremberg moment” if circumstances allow.
2026/01/23Kangan witness: Security forces announced “orders to shoot from the waist up” amid crackdown
A citizen account from Kangan (Bushehr province) says that on Friday, 19 Dey, roughly half the city’s population gathered on Moallem Street to protest, and that demonstrators entered a judicial office, removed case files opened against protesters, and set them on fire. The witness says that after about three hours of chanting, security forces were deployed to Kangan from Bushehr and Khormoj and began firing toward the crowd, while using loudspeakers to warn that they had “orders to shoot from the waist up” and demanding people return home. The same account alleges that 15- and 16-year-old girls were detained in front of onlookers and that whenever citizens approached to intervene, forces fired shots into the air; it also claims nearly 100 people were arrested and that live rounds were used to shoot protesters in the legs to disperse the crowd. These claims are extremely serious and have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23Former Malavan youth player Milad Mianehkhah Monfardi killed in Anzali, report says
Information cited by Iran International says Milad Mianehkhah Monfardi, 29, a former player for Malavan’s youth teams, was killed in Anzali on the night of 19 Dey 1404 after being shot with live ammunition by Islamic Republic security forces during the ongoing protests. The report adds that he had recently been accepted into a maritime-related field of study and also worked in hemp/rope-making. The circumstances described have not been independently verified.
2026/01/23IRGC deputy commander: “The Guard’s duty is to protect the Islamic Revolution”
Ahmad Vahidi, the deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said the IRGC’s mission is “to protect the Islamic Revolution,” reiterating the force’s foundational role as a regime-protection institution amid ongoing unrest.
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