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UPDATE: Reports of an Iranian Regime Crackdown and Massacre
The Iranian regime is reportedly cracking down on the protests.
The death counts in Iran are climbing as the Islamic regime reportedly is cracking down on protesters across the nation.
“We are pretty confident that a massacre happened starting late Thursday night throughout the country,” said Hadi Ghaemi, executive director of the New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran. “It was a complete war zone. https://t.co/kOTbk6gZjO
— Marion 👸 (@Marion202501) January 16, 2026
Reports coming out of Iran are limited because of the Internet crackdown by the regime, but some are making it out. This video, shared this morning, shows Iranian Guard troops reportedly moving in an effort to squash protests.
🇮🇷Martial Law In Action.
Video showing heavy military forces taking over civilian areas in Iran to stop protests. pic.twitter.com/BJDdjheJtV
— WAR (@warsurveillance) January 16, 2026
Reuters reports this morning:
Iran’s deadly crackdown appears to have broadly quelled protests for now, according to a rights group and residents, as state media reported more arrests on Friday in the shadow of repeated U.S. threats to intervene if the killing continues.
Fears of a U.S. attack have retreated since Wednesday, when President Donald Trump said he’d been told killings in Iran were easing.
U.S. allies, including Saudi Arabia and Qatar, conducted intense diplomacy with Washington this week to prevent a U.S. strike, warning of repercussions for the wider region that would ultimately impact the United States, a Gulf official said.
The White House said on Thursday that Trump and his team have warned Tehran there would be “grave consequences” if there was further bloodshed.
Trump understands that 800 scheduled executions were halted, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt added, saying the president was keeping “all of his options on the table”.
More accounts of the violence have been spreading after a communications blackout was lifted earlier this week.
The BBC reports that families must pay large sums of money to retrieve family members killed by the regime.
Families of people killed in the protests in Iran have told the BBC that the authorities are demanding large sums of money to return their bodies for burial. #IranProtests @BBCWorld https://t.co/KikZp5jko5
— Jiyar Gol (@jiyargol) January 16, 2026
President Trump is having everyone guessing on when and what actions he will take as the regime ignores his remarks and bagan killing Iranians. We noted that very few commercial flights are arriving or departing Iran at this time.