The nationwide protests difficult Iran’s theocracy appeared more and more smothered on Thursday (January 15, 2026), every week after authorities shut the nation off from the world and escalated a bloody crackdown that activists say has killed at the least 2,637 individuals.
The prospect of U.S. retaliation for the deaths of protesters nonetheless hung over the area, although President Donald Trump signalled a doable de-escalation, saying the killing seemed to be ending.
The U.S. introduced new sanctions on Iranian officers accused of suppressing the protests, which started late final month over the nation’s faltering financial system and the collapse of its foreign money.
In Iran’s capital, Tehran, witnesses stated latest mornings confirmed no new indicators of bonfires lit the evening earlier than or particles within the streets. The sound of gunfire, which had been intense for a number of nights, has additionally light.
Individuals cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, on January 15, 2026
| Photograph Credit score:
AP
In the meantime, Iranian state media has introduced wave after wave of arrests by authorities, focusing on these it calls “terrorists” whereas additionally apparently searching for Starlink satellite tv for pc web dishes, which supply the one solution to get movies and pictures out to the web.
“Since January 8, we noticed a full-fledged conflict, and anyone who was within the gathering since then is a prison,” stated Justice Minister Amin Hossein Rahimi, in keeping with a report Wednesday from the judiciary’s Mizan information company.
Iranian state media broadcast a roster of harm from what it known as a “terrorist operation,” together with harm to a whole lot of shops and public buildings, scores of vehicles and ambulances and several other “heritage websites.” together with mosques and shrines.
China’s overseas ministry stated Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi advised his Chinese language counterpart that the state of affairs within the nation was now secure.
Individuals attend the funeral of the safety forces who have been killed within the protests that erupted over the collapse of the foreign money’s worth in Tehran, Iran, January 14, 2026.
| Photograph Credit score:
by way of Reuters
However as Iran tries to claim management at house, it has signaled worries about threats from overseas, together with the USA, which has threatened army motion over the killing of peaceable demonstrators. Tensions soared after Trump’s remark Tuesday that “assistance is on its means” to Iranian protesters.
The Islamic Republic shut down its airspace for hours early Thursday with out rationalization, one thing it has carried out in earlier rounds of assaults between it and Israel, in addition to through the 12-day conflict in June.
The US additionally took steps to maneuver some personnel from Qatar’s Al Udeid Air Base whereas warning diplomats in Kuwait to avoid army bases the place American troops are stationed. Britain closed its Tehran embassy and withdrew British employees from Iran.
Airspace shut
The airspace closure lasted for over 4 hours, in keeping with pilot steering issued by Iran, which lies on a key east-west flight route. Worldwide carriers diverted north and south round Iran, however after one extension, the closure appeared to have expired, and several other home flights have been within the air simply after 7 am.
Round noon, Iranian state tv carried a press release from the nation’s Civil Aviation Authority saying that the nation’s “skies are internet hosting incoming and outgoing flights, and airports are offering providers to passengers.” It didn’t acknowledge the closure.
The closure instantly rippled by means of international aviation.
“A number of airways have already decreased or suspended providers, and most carriers are avoiding Iranian airspace,” stated the web site SafeAirspace, which gives data on battle areas and air journey.
“The state of affairs might sign additional safety or army exercise, together with the chance of missile launches or heightened air defence, growing the chance of misidentification of civil visitors.”
Up to now, Iran has misidentified a business plane as a hostile goal. In 2020, Iranian air protection shot down Ukraine Worldwide Airways Flight PS752 with two surface-to-air missiles, killing all 176 individuals on board.
Iran protests spark response overseas
Movies of demonstrations have stopped popping out of Iran, doubtless signalling the slowdown of their tempo below the heavy safety pressure presence in main cities. However within the meantime, protests in opposition to Iran have been held around the globe as international consideration has targeted on the crackdown.
The U.N. Safety Council scheduled an emergency assembly on Iran for Thursday afternoon on the request of the USA.
Trump made a sequence of statements that left unclear what motion, if any, the US would take. In feedback to reporters Wednesday, Trump stated he had been advised that plans for executions in Iran have stopped, with out offering many particulars. On Thursday he hailed as “excellent news” experiences {that a} protester’s loss of life sentence had been lifted.
Iranian International Minister Abbas Araghchi additionally sought to tone down the rhetoric, urging the US to discover a answer by means of negotiation.
Requested by Fox Information what he would say to Mr. Trump, Mr. Araghchi stated: “My message is: Between conflict and diplomacy, diplomacy is a greater means, though we have no optimistic expertise from the USA. However nonetheless diplomacy is a lot better than conflict.” Activists warned that hangings of detainees may come quickly, although Araghchi advised Fox Information “there isn’t any plan for hanging.”
The change in tone by the U.S. and Iran emerged hours after the chief of the Iranian judiciary stated the federal government should act rapidly to punish the 1000’s who’ve been detained.
Amongst these hit with US sanctions Thursday was the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for Nationwide Safety, whom the Treasury Division accuses of being one of many first officers to name for violence in opposition to protesters. The Group of Seven industrialised democracies, of which the US is a member, additionally warned they might impose extra sanctions if Iran’s crackdown continues.
The clampdown on the demonstrations has killed at the least 2,637, in keeping with the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists Information Company. The determine reported Thursday is a rise of twenty-two from the determine a day earlier, and the organisation says the quantity will doubtless proceed to climb. The loss of life toll exceeds that of some other spherical of protest or unrest in Iran in many years and recollects the chaos surrounding the nation’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The U.S.-based company, based 20 years in the past, has been correct all through a number of years of demonstrations, counting on a community of activists inside Iran that confirms all reported fatalities.
With communications vastly restricted in Iran, the AP has been unable to independently verify the group’s toll. The theocratic authorities of Iran has not offered general casualty figures for the demonstrations.
Printed – January 16, 2026 02:15 am IST
