Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
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Jan. 23: Iranian regime forces storm hospitals, detain wounded protesters, including actors, in latest brutal crackdown (by Anna Young, NY Post)
Iran’s security forces are raiding hospitals and arresting wounded suspected protesters — including actors and athletes — in the nation’s latest crackdown on the anti-government movement.
Security forces have stormed hospitals as they carry out mass arrests across multiple cities, detaining patients receiving treatment for suspected protest-related injuries, according to the United Nations Human Rights Council. …
“We have indications that the security forces made mass arrests in several cities, even pursing injured people into hospitals, and detaining lawyers, human rights defendants, activists, and ordinary civilians,” UN human rights chief Volker Turk charged during an urgent council session in Geneva Friday.
“The Tehran Prosecutor’s Office has reportedly opened criminal cases against athletes, actors, people involved in the movie industry, and the owners of cafes, on charges of supporting the protests. I call on the Iranian authorities to reconsider, to pull back, and to end their brutal repression.”
Turk condemned [Iranian regime] forces of using live ammunition on protesters, killing “thousands of people, including children,” since imposing a near-total internet blackout on Jan. 8 to conceal the relentless massacre. …..
The protests, which exploded on Dec. 28, spread rapidly across all 31 provinces, morphing from demonstrations over a collapsing economy into the most serious threat to Iran’s clerical rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The regime answered with overwhelming force, deploying the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Basij militia to crush the unrest, according to rights groups and witness accounts.
Leaked images have since shown the bodies of hundreds of victims piled inside and outside morgues.
President Trump announced Thursday (Jan. 22) that at least 132,000 tons of US Navy hardware is steaming toward Iran — including the nuclear-powered USS Abraham Lincoln and three guided-missile destroyers.
The commander in chief told reporters during the World Economic Forum in Switzerland that “maybe we won’t have to use” the carrier strike group but that the US had “a lot of ships” going in Iran’s direction “just in case.”
Trump also called for the removal of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and said a 25% tariff will be slapped on any nations doing business with Iran — including China and the United Arab Emirates.
Jan. 25: More than 36,500 killed in deadliest two days in Iran protest crackdown: report (by Ronny Reyes, NY Post)
More than 36,500 Iranians were allegedly killed during a brutal, two-day crackdown against anti-regime protesters, the deadliest in the history of the Islamic Republic, according to a new report. [In addition, more than 41,280 people have been arrested, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency].
The latest estimates paint a horrific image of the violence that fell across Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 when Tehran’s security forces opened fire on thousands of civilians protesting the government’s rule and failure to fix the nation’s ailing economy. …
Despite downplaying the death toll in recent weeks, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ own records allegedly acknowledge that more than 36,000 people were killed during the two-day crackdown, sources from the Supreme National Security Council told Iran International. …
Iran’s National Security Council, meanwhile, had only acknowledged 3,117 deaths, with only 2,427 of those dead considered “innocent” in Tehran’s eyes.
The true death toll in Iran remains unclear amid a nationwide internet shutdown, which went into effect on the same day that the killings began.
The violent response to the nationwide protests has fueled tensions between Iran and the US, with President Trump last week calling for Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to be ousted. …
Jan. 24: Major airlines cancel flights to the Middle East with possible US strike on Iran up in the air (by David Spector, NY Post)
Major airlines canceled flights across the Middle East as anxieties mount that the US is preparing to strike Iran. …..
The widespread suspensions come as tensions increasingly mount between the US and the Islamic Republic, with the Trump administration rapidly building up military assets in the region.
The Pentagon deployed the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and three destroyers from the South China Sea to the Persian Gulf this week.
Thousands of US troops have also been sent to the region after President Trump’s threat to strike Tehran if the regime carried out mass hangings of protesters [that they announced they intended to do].
“I said, ‘If you hang those people, you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,” Trump told reporters. “It’ll make what we did to you around nuclear [in June 2025] look like peanuts.’” [Following the president’s warning, the Ayatollah’s regime did not carry out public hangings].
Jan. 24: Iran’s supreme leader retreats underground, warned of likelihood of US airstrikes: report (by Shane Galvin, NY Post)
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has gone underground, reportedly hiding out in a bunker out of fear of being wiped out by US airstrikes — as the USS Abraham Lincoln steams toward the Persian Gulf.
The 86-year-old “Supreme Leader” has moved to a fortified shelter in Tehran connected to a series of elaborate underground tunnels after senior military officials warned of the increasing likelihood of an imminent US attack. …
Khamenei has left his youngest son Masoud Khamenei, 53, in charge of running the day-to-day management of the Islamic Republic. …
Iran has deemed the likelihood of US airstrikes to be high after President Trump announced that warships were headed to the Middle East as a warning to the ayatollah, following a continuing war of words between the two leaders in recent days. …..
Publicly, Tehran has not backed down from heightened tensions with the U.S. as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian threatened to treat any attack against the supreme leader by the US or Israel as “an all-out war against us.”
Iran’s national security parliamentary commission also declared this week that any attack against the embattled Khamenei would trigger a declaration of jihad. …
Khamenei, who is frequently active on social media, has not posted on X since Jan. 17, though it is not known when he allegedly entered into hiding.
It’s not the first time the supreme leader has holed up underground. Khamenei also went silent after retreating to a bunker last June, during the 12-Day War with Israel. He reportedly had even drafted a list of potential successors in the event he was killed in the short-lived conflict.
His latest X post this year threatened to go after both internal and international “criminals” who he claimed were responsible for the widespread protests that have gripped the nation since Dec. 28. …
The excerpts from the articles above reprinted here for educational purposes only. May not be reproduced on other websites without permission.
Questions
1. What tactics has the Islamic regime used against its people since widespread protests began at the end of December?
2. What actions has President Trump taken in response to the regime’s brutal, murderous crackdown on Iranian citizens?
3. How did the Islamic regime react when President Trump announced “you’re going to be hit harder than you’ve ever been hit,” if they carried out public hangings of arrested protesters?
4. What action have major airlines taken that indicate they think the U.S. might strike the Iranian regime?
5. What action has Iran’s “Supreme Leader” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei taken that indicates he’s afraid of the U.S.?
6. Three weeks ago on January 2, President Trump posted on Truth Social:
“If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
From a Jan. 26 Telegram post by Amir Tsarfati:
So what is the main reason for the delay in the strike on Iran?
Believe it or not, at this stage it is largely the weather in the United States, which has prevented additional defense systems and interceptors from reaching our region.
Starting Tuesday (Jan. 27), once all flights resume and the planned military aid is fully in place, the show may begin. Remember, President Trump wants a strong and unmistakably decisive blow. To achieve that, Iranian radar and communication systems must first be blinded, powerful new weapons introduced to shock and disable forces on the ground, and only then a massive strike launched against those responsible for the massacres in Iran.
A visit to Yemen and Iraq may also be required to neutralize Iranian proxies operating there.
Hallel Bitton Rosen of Israel’s Channel 14 reports that a summary of the meeting held overnight (Jan. 24) between U.S. Central Command Commander General Brad Cooper and senior Israel Defense Forces officials indicates that there is currently no set timetable for a strike on Iran:
According to the report, the U.S. will require time to build up significant military capabilities, although forces are prepared to carry out an immediate strike if necessary.
The Americans prefer an operation that is clean, rapid, and low-cost, with the objective focused on those responsible for harming civilians and protesters.
The report also notes that there is readiness to pursue regime change in Iran if circumstances require it.
Before the brutal crackdown on protesters in Iran, the Trump administration’s policy has been to impose maximum pressure through sanctions on the regime. The president has offered to negotiate with the regime.
a) What will your reaction be if the U.S. does strike the Iranian regime?
b) Ask a parent the same question.
OPTIONAL: Ask a grandparent what he/she remembers about the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and how they view the Iranian regime.
Background
Read a previous report from Jan. 9: “Internet service in Iran cut off or restricted as deadly protests reach a possible tipping point”
Protests in Iran on January 8 and 9, 2026, were part of a massive, nationwide uprising triggered by a severe economic crisis that began in late December 2025, which quickly escalated into political, anti-government demonstrations calling for the end of the Islamic Republic.
The intense demonstrations on these specific dates were driven by several key factors:
- The protests were sparked by a sharp decline in the value of the Iranian rial against the U.S. dollar, leading to skyrocketing inflation. Essential goods, such as eggs, cooking oil, and chicken, became unaffordable or disappeared from shelves.
- The unrest began with strikes in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, a significant move as this group has historically been a base of support for the government.
- The protests quickly moved beyond economic grievances to demand the removal of the ruling theocracy. Chants included “Death to the dictator” and “Iranians, raise your voice, shout out for your rights”.
- Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called for nationwide, coordinated demonstrations to take place at 8 p.m. on January 8 and 9, which significantly boosted the turnout.
- The demonstrations were also fueled by anger over the government’s violent response to earlier protests, which included the use of live ammunition, batons, and tear gas, resulting in numerous deaths.
By Jan. 8-9, the protests were described as the largest in Iran since 2022, spanning hundreds of cities, with witnesses reporting tens of thousands of people in the streets of Tehran despite a strict, government-imposed internet and communications blackout designed to conceal the crackdown. (from Google AI Overview, Jan. 26)
On Jan. 23, 2026, the US State Department announced “Sanctions on Illicit Petroleum Traders to Support the People of Iran,” noting “the United States is taking further action to deny the Iranian regime the resources to oppress its people.”
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