WHILE several Western sources had cited implausibly high figures for the death toll in the recent protests in Iran, figures from within the Iranian establishment have admitted to a large number of casualties, pointing to the harshness of the crackdown by the state. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself has said that “several thousands” had been killed, while an Iranian official cited the figure of 5,000 deaths to Reuters. These are shocking numbers. Iranian officials insist that most of the deaths were caused by foreign-backed saboteurs, but there can be little doubt that security personnel used excessive force against the demonstrators. In fact, it would be naïve to assume that foreign forces were not involved in inflaming an already explosive situation. For example, US President Donald Trump had promised Iranian protesters that “help is on the way”, while Mossad’s Farsi X account had boasted that “we are with you on the ground”. An Israeli minister had further bragged that Tel Aviv’s operatives were active in Iran “right now”. These statements leave little to the imagination.

The reality of the situation in Iran is complex; the state used excessive, deadly force against its own people, yet at the same time a hybrid war was being waged against Iran by the US and Israel to dislodge the Ayatollah’s rule, and push for regime change. The Iranian state should review its actions. While there is little Iran can do to counter the effects of the strangulating sanctions imposed by the US, which have devastated its economy, it must treat its citizens with compassion in these times of severe economic distress. Acts of murder and violence committed in the name of protests may be deserving of legal action, but peaceful demonstrators must not be treated harshly. The illegal US-Israel campaign for regime change in Iran is unrelenting. Neither Tel Aviv nor Washington have any sympathy for the Iranian people and are simply exploiting genuine popular grievances to get even with Tehran’s rulers. The US and its allies are driven by geopolitical aims and cold realpolitik, not any genuine concern for human rights. Moreover, we have seen the disastrous results of other regime change operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. Foreign actors should stay out of Iran, and let the Iranian people chart their own course.

Published in Dawn, January 21st, 2026