On Jan. 8, 2026, Iranian citizens took to the streets to protest the economic crisis caused by the severe collapse of the rial (Iranian currency). In retaliation, the Iranian government cut off all phone and internet connections. Then, the police began using live fire, killing several thousand citizens in two days.
The interviewee would like to remain anonymous. Here is what she had to say.
“My people never desired the ‘Islamic Republic of Iran.’ They had no choice but to accept the new government after the Shah (King) was exiled in 1979.”
“Living in Iran is not even comparable to living in the US. Women are second-class citizens in Iran. They are murdered for showing their hair. There is no speaking out against the regime, or you will be killed. You do not have the freedom to choose your religion. The people are really poor. The rial is actually worthless now. One million rial is not even worth one US dollar. Iranian passports are not valuable either. It is difficult for people to leave Iran unless they have money or family in other countries.”
“This (Jan. 8, 2026) is not the first time protests have been broken up by the regime murdering people. The Women, Life, Freedom movement was a big movement in 2022 after the morality police murdered a girl for not wearing her hijab properly. The people used the internet to spread the word about what was happening in our country.”
At the time of this interview, Iran was in a total communication blackout and had been for 14 days. The blackout lasted for 20 days. As of right now, the internet has returned, but only for some citizens and only for sparse amounts of time.
“I do not know if my loved ones are even alive. On Jan. 8, the government of Iran massacred at least 30,000 citizens in two days. Because of the blackout, we do not know exactly how many people were killed. There are likely many more. This is a genocide. Wounded citizens are even being murdered in their hospital beds. Many wounded are avoiding the hospitals and choosing to die in their homes.”
“To collect your dead loved ones, you have to find their body amongst the thousands of other dead. The dead are all laid out in body bags, and you have to go from body bag to body bag to find your person. Once you find them, you must pay the government the price of the bullet that killed them to be allowed to take their body home for proper burial.”
“What is happening in Iran is not about politics; it is about human rights. We are all humans, and the humans in Iran are being silenced for standing up and speaking out. Please, other countries need to step in and help us. Hear us, hear our voices, HELP US!”
