Footage of a protester pulling down the national flag from the Iranian Embassy yesterday has been doing the rounds on social media.
The footage appears to show a man climbing the balcony of the embassy in central London and replacing the flag with the pre-Islamic revolution flag, featuring a lion and sun, which is frequently used by Iranian opposition groups.
The Iranian Embassy later posted a picture on its X account, showing a flag at the embassy and the words “Iran’s flag is flying high.”
The Guardian reported that an estimated 500-1,000 people attended the protest in Kensington on January 10, and that two arrests were made.
Iran Human Rights Organization Reports At Least 192 Protesters Killed
The Iran Human Rights Organization (IHRNGO) says that a harsh crackdown on demonstrations in Iran has intensified significantly and that reports “indicate widespread killing of protesters in different parts of the country, particularly in Tehran.”
According to the Norway-based rights monitor, the deaths of at least 192 protesters have been confirmed since the start of the protests, nine of whom were under the age of 18.
At the same time, the organization warned that there are unverified reports indicating the deaths of at least several hundred people. According to estimates by some sources, the death toll could be more than 2,000, it added.
Due to a complete Internet blackout in Iran and severe restrictions on access to information, IHRNGO stressed that independently verifying these reports "remains a serious challenge."
The organization also expressed grave concern over threats by officials of the Islamic republic’s judiciary to issue death sentences against protesters on charges of “moharebeh” (waging war against God), and called for an immediate response from the international community to prevent the continuation of the killings and the risk of mass executions of detainees.
“Threats by Iranian authorities to sentence protesters to death on charges such as moharebeh must be taken extremely seriously,” IHRNGO director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam said. “Those who are in power today are the same individuals who, in the 1980s, committed crimes against humanity by executing thousands of political prisoners without trial. The risk of a repetition of those crimes is entirely real.”
Meanwhile, the Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps claimed on January 11 that a “considerable” number of security and law enforcement personnel have been killed in clashes with protesters over the past few nights. Citing an “informed source,” the agency said actions against security forces had resulted in the “martyrdom” of many personnel, and a significant number of police officers had also been injured.
In its latest assessment of the situation in Iran, HRANA, a rights-focused Iranian news agency, reported that 37 of those killed in the clashes were members of military or security forces, and that one prosecutor was also killed.
Currently, only a handful of state-affiliated news agencies have access to the Internet and are publishing exclusively the narratives of security and law enforcement bodies. The Islamic republic has now cut off nationwide Internet access for more than 60 hours as widespread anti-government protests continue for the 15th straight day.
Iranian State TV Confirms Authenticity Of Footage Showing Numerous Bodies In Warehouse
Iranian state-controlled broadcaster IRIB -- one of the few media outlets with Internet access -- has published a video report showing a large warehouse in Tehran containing numerous bodies, but attributed their deaths to “protesters.”
The report does not specify the city district, the exact location of the warehouse, or any other details.
Prior to this state TV report, which was broadcast on January 11, images received by Radio Farda on the previous night -- and likely recorded near a medical facility and the Kahrizak morgue in Tehran -- appeared to show the bodies of several people killed, with visible gunshot wounds on some of them. Their relatives were present at the site to identify them.
In another video, filmed from a different angle, families are seen inside a large hall searching among dozens of lifeless bodies for their loved ones, with some in the process of identifying and confirming the identities of victims.
According to Radio Farda, the concentration of such a large number of bodies in a single location could give some indication of the scale of the casualties during the crackdown.
In its report on the afternoon of January 11, IRIB confirmed the authenticity of the images but attributed the killing of the “majority” of those shown to opponents of the government.
In the report, an IRIB correspondent shows scenes of bodies being transported by pickup trucks from a forensic medical facility to a large warehouse, along with numerous bloodied bodies lying on the floor of the hall, and -- without providing any evidence -- claims that the majority of the victims were “not killed by government forces.”
However, the reporter also acknowledges at one point that “among them there may have been individuals who intended to confront law enforcement.”
On January 11, the Iran Human Rights Organization said that reports “indicate widespread killing of protesters in different parts of the country, particularly in Tehran.”
According to the Norway-based rights monitor, the deaths of at least 192 protesters have been confirmed since the start of the protests, nine of whom were under the age of 18.
At the same time, the organization warned that there are unverified reports indicating the deaths of at least several hundred people. According to estimates by some sources, the death toll could be more than 2,000, it added.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a cabinet meeting on January 11, that Israel is “closely monitoring the events unfolding in Iran,” adding that his country supports the Iranian people’s “struggle for freedom and strongly condemns the mass slaughter of innocent civilians.”
Israeli media reported that Israel’s Chief of the General Staff, Eyal Zamir, held meetings over the weekend to assess the situation following the intensification of protests in Iran.
According to The Times of Israel, the Israeli military currently views the anti-government protests as an internal matter in Iran and does not consider them to be directly related to Israel’s security, even as it continues to monitor the situation.
Iranians Abroad Lose Contact With Loved Ones Amid Dayslong Digital Blackout
- By RFE/RL
With Iran currently experiencing a dayslong digital blackout since late evening on January 8, RFE/RL's Radio Farda has been in touch with Iranians outside the country who can't reach their families because of the shutdown back home. For safety reasons, some of those who responded asked to remain anonymous, while others requested that only their first names be used. (We posted an text version of this story earlier.)
Harrowing Images Of Dead Bodies Outside Tehran Morgue Appear Online
The Telegram channels Vahid Online and Hal Vash, which monitor protests and rights abuses in Iran, have published images of people killed during the recent anti-government demonstrations in Tehran.
In a series of recorded videos confirmed by Reuters as being filmed at the Kahrizak Forensic Medical Center in the Iranian capital, people can be seen identifying their relatives among the bodies of those killed. The news agency said the date on which the footage was taken could not be verified.
Investigations carried out by RFE/RL’s Radio Farda indicate that Iranian military and security forces have fired live ammunition at civilians during the protests and there have also been reports of extrajudicial killings.
Trump Briefed On Options To Support Protests, Media Report
US President Donald Trump has reportedly been briefed on options to respond to the harsh security crackdown on protests in Iran.
As Trump has intensified pressure on the hard-line rulers in Tehran over the past week, he is now considering several options for supporting the protests in Iran, Axios and The New York Times reported, citing unnamed US officials.
While the reports said Trump has yet to make a decision on the form and scale of any move, The Wall Street Journal reported that specific options would be presented to the president on January 13.
The reports came as rights groups and government media said protests, arrests, and violence continued in dozens of towns and cities in Iran on January 11.
Live Blog Closing For The Day
We are closing the live blog for now, but we'll be back again tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. Central European time.