As Donald Trump threatens further
military action, the sense of exhaustion in Iran is palpable.
An
Iranian woman looks at an electronic board displayed outside a currency
exchange shop in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 20, 2026, following recent
unrest in Iran.
January 30, 2026 The latest reliable estimates of
the death toll in Iran’s recent nationwide protests are growing, potentially
reaching the tens of thousands. Some estimates place the number of civilians
killed by government forces at 30,000 or more. We play a rare eyewitness
account of the deadly massacre of protesters in Rasht, Iran, and speak to the
Iranian filmmaker and political dissident Sepideh Farsi, who says U.S. military
intervention “would only worsen the situation.” She warns that President
Trump’s interest in U.S. military action on the country is “for business,” and
“not for Iranian people.”
Iran denied recent contact with
the US as Washington deployed major military assets, Tehran carried out
executions, and regional powers pushed for de-escalation amid mounting war
fears.
Everyone in the region, whatever
their past history with the Islamic Republic, should do their utmost to defend
Iran and guarantee its sovereignty
An
anti-US and anti-Israel banner hangs on a building in Tehran on 27 January
2026, as a US naval strike group has deployed to Middle Eastern waters (Atta
Kenare/AFP)
January 28, 2026 ( RFE/RL’s Radio Farda ) – A US
aircraft carrier group arrived in the Middle East on January 27 as tensions
mount over a possible strike against Iran after a brutal crackdown on protests
that rights groups say killed thousands of people.
January 25, 2026 Mahsa Ghaffari (The Conversation) – Iran’s
latest wave of unrest is often explained in familiar terms: economic collapse,
sanctions, inflation, or sudden political anger. But this framing misses what
is actually unfolding.
Long-standing crises in
Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Sudan, Iraq, and Iran are deepening as the
U.S. imprint on the Middle East shows no signs of weakening.