Iran allegedly airs 97 ‘coercive confessions’ amid record-breaking North Korea-style internet blackout
The Iranian regime has allegedly broadcast at least 97 “coercive confessions” from detained protesters on state television in just over two weeks, human rights groups say, as residents endure the longest internet blackout on record.
The videos reportedly feature handcuffed detainees with blurred faces showing remorse for their actions, since the protests began Dec. 28, according to a rights group that is tracking the videos.
They said ominous music can be heard, and edited footage shows attacks on security forces, according to reporting by The Associated Press and data from the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
Other rights groups also claim the confession videos are coerced and obtained under duress, with protesters “dragged before cameras under the threat of torture and execution.”
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“The regime’s broadcast of so-called confessions by detained protesters is a threadbare and worn tactic,” Ali Safavi, a senior official with the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), told Fox News Digital.
“Time and time again, the henchmen drag arrested demonstrators before cameras under the threat of torture and execution, coercing them to recant their beliefs or invent absurd stories,” Safavi claimed.
The broadcasts come amid nationwide protests sparked by public anger over political repression, economic collapse and alleged abuses by security forces.
Demonstrations have spread across major cities despite mass arrests, lethal force and sweeping restrictions on communication.
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Safavi said the confessions serve a dual purpose. “First they are meant to justify the mass slaughter of protesters, no fewer than 3,000, which NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi has stated constitute manifest crimes against humanity,” he said.
“These forced confessions are designed to demoralize the Iranian people and sow fear and doubt.”
But he said any mass executions or staged confessions “won’t achieve that because no amount of televised coercion or repression will break the protesters’ resolve.”
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U.S.-based HRANA has warned that forced confessions in Iran frequently follow psychological or physical torture and can carry severe consequences, including death sentences.
“These rights violations compound on top of each other and lead to horrific outcomes,” Skylar Thompson, HRANA group’s deputy director, told The Associated Press, adding that the scale of broadcasts is unprecedented.
The confession campaign coincides with a sweeping internet shutdown that has effectively cut the public off from independent information.
According to NetBlocks, Iran’s internet blackout has surpassed 144 consecutive hours making it one of the longest disruptions ever recorded.
“The shutdown is still ongoing, making it one of the longest blackouts on record,” Isik Mater, NetBlocks’ director of research, told Fox News Digital.
“State TV continues to operate normally via satellite transmission, which does not depend on the public internet, which means households can still watch Iranian state channels even during a near-total shutdown.”
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Mater said the blackout magnifies the impact of state propaganda because “while the public is cut off, the state relies on broadcast media and its domestic National Information Network to control what people see,” he said, likening Iran’s information strategy to that of North Korea.
“A useful comparison is North Korea where the vast majority of citizens there have little to no access to the global internet, yet the state TV and radio broadcast regime propaganda 24/7,” he said.
“Information flows through closed systems, like North Korea’s domestic intranet Kwangmyon and not the open internet.”
Mater added that shutdowns are highly selective, with senior officials and state institutions retaining connectivity through “whitelisted networks.”
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“Senior officials and state institutions retain connectivity via whitelisted government networks and private links,”
“This is why Ali Khamenei and other government officials continue posting on global social media platforms during the blackout, enabling the regime to shape the narrative internationally while citizens are unable to document events or even respond.”
Top Iranian official downplays death toll, blames ‘Israeli plot’ as US considers strikes
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected claims of mass casualties amid a recent surge in protests within the Islamic country and blamed any killings that have taken place on an “Israeli plot” intended to create a large number of casualties.
The claim came during a wide-ranging interview on Fox News’ “Special Report with Brett Baier” Wednesday evening, during which Araghchi was told estimates have indicated the death toll in his country could be anywhere between 2,500 to more than 12,000 protesters. But, according to the top Iranian official, the number is in the hundreds.
“When terrorist elements led from outside, entered this, you know, protests and started to shoot, you know, police forces, police officers and security forces. And there were terrorist cells. They came in, they used Daesh-style terrorist operations. They got police officers, burned them alive, they beheaded them, and they started shooting at police officers and also to the people. So as a result, for three days, we had, in fact, fighting against terrorists, and not with the protesters,” Araghchi said. “It was completely a different story.”
FETTERMAN ‘OPEN’ TO MORE US STRIKES ON IRAN AS REGIME ‘SLAUGHTERING THOUSANDS’
According to Araghchi, these rogue, terrorist-like actors he spoke of started shooting at civilians for “one reason,” which he said was to draw the United States into the conflict.
“They wanted to increase the number of deaths. Why? Because President Trump has said that if there are killings, he would intervene. And they wanted to drag him into this conflict,” the Iranian Foreign Minister continued. “And that was exactly an Israeli plot. They started to increase the number of deaths by killing ordinary people, by killing police officers, by starting a kind of, you know, fighting inside the different cities.”
Iran has seen widespread unrest since the last week of December, as the country faces a massive economic crash that spurred many in Iran to take to the streets in protest.
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Contrary to Araghchi’s claims are eyewitness reports that describe government forces in Iran firing upon unarmed protesters. Some even spoke of snipers taking aim at innocent Iranians, according to testimony shared with the New York Times.
During Baier’s interview with Iran’s Foreign Minister, Araghchi also insisted that there are no imminent plans to hang, or otherwise execute, protesters. The top Iranian official tried to downplay the unrest erupting in his country as well, arguing there is now “a calm.”
“We are in full control,” Araghchi added. “And let’s, you know, hope that wisdom would prevail. And we don’t go for a high level of tension, which could be disastrous for everybody.”
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Iran poses a far more dangerous military test for the US than Venezuela, experts warn
Fresh off a successful operation in Venezuela, the U.S. is weighing its options as Iran’s leadership launches a violent crackdown on anti-government protesters — raising questions about whether similar military pressure could be applied to Tehran, Iran.
In Caracas, Venezuela, U.S. special operators moved quickly to capture Nicolás Maduro. In Tehran, Iran, any comparable effort would unfold against a state with greater military depth and the ability to strike back well beyond its borders.
“Thinking of this as an operation, as in the case of Venezuela or the nuclear program, is the wrong framing,” Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital. “This has to be seen as a campaign.”
Iran is a larger, more capable military power than Venezuela, with security forces designed to protect the regime from both foreign attack and internal unrest. Power is distributed across clerical institutions, security services and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a structure built to survive the loss of individual leaders rather than collapse with them.
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“Musical chairs at the top is highly unlikely to work in Iran,” Taleblu said.
He pointed to the central role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which he described as “the tip of the spear of the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism,” warning that removing a single figure would leave a hardened security apparatus intact — and potentially more dangerous.
That structure is backed by a military capability Venezuela never possessed: a resilient missile force that gives Iran credible options for retaliation if it believes the regime itself is under threat.
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“The retaliatory capability of the Islamic Republic is still fairly intact, which is their missile program,” Taleblu said.
During heavy Israeli strikes in the 12-day war between Israel and Iran, Iran’s missile force was degraded but not eliminated. While air defenses and launch infrastructure were damaged, Tehran, Iran, retains a significant inventory of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles and the ability to disperse and fire them from mobile launchers.
Analysts say the conflict reinforced Iran’s reliance on missiles as its primary deterrent, even as it accepted that air defenses could be penetrated. During the war, Israel degraded Iran’s air defenses while the U.S. moved in to strike its nuclear facilities.
Iran’s armed forces also are far larger than Venezuela’s, with nearly 1 million active and reserve personnel compared with roughly 120,000 troops in Venezuela — a disparity that underscores the very different military environments U.S. planners would face.
Iran’s antagonism toward the United States is rooted in the ideology of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which cast opposition to Western influence — particularly the U.S. and Israel — as a core principle of the state. Venezuela’s clashes with Washington, by contrast, largely have been driven by political power, sanctions and control over oil revenues, rather than a revolutionary ideology aimed at opposing Western society itself.
In Venezuela, Trump administration officials framed the operation not as regime change, but as a limited action to advance U.S. interests — prosecuting Maduro on drug trafficking charges and securing leverage over the country’s oil sector. After Maduro’s capture, Trump allowed Vice President Delcy Rodríguez to assume power on an interim basis and expressed doubt that opposition leader María Machado had sufficient internal support to govern.
In Iran, by contrast, any military action would be interpreted as a direct challenge to the regime itself.
Unlike Venezuela, where the state apparatus remained intact after Maduro’s removal, targeting Iran’s leadership risks expanding the mission from a narrow strike into a broader campaign against the regime’s security forces.
“You could conduct an attack against the leadership, including the supreme leader, but that raises lots of questions about who comes next,” Seth Jones, a senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and a former Pentagon official, told Fox News Digital.
“Is it Khamenei’s son? Is it Sadegh Larijani? Is it Hassan Khameini?” Jones said, referring to figures often discussed as potential successors. “Or do you start to look at other options?”
That uncertainty, Jones said, is what turns a leadership-targeting strike into a far broader and riskier proposition.
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“The more this starts to be not just the removal of a leader, but regime change, the more it becomes an expansive targeting problem,” Jones said.
Jones added that the core challenge for U.S. planners is not whether military force could be used, but what political objective it would serve.
“The big question then becomes what’s the objective — not just militarily, but what’s the political objective in Iran and how does that translate into what types of military resources you need?” he said.
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Such an expansion, Jones warned, would raise the risk of a prolonged and destabilizing conflict in a country of Iran’s size and complexity.
“The more you start looking at regime change and using military force for that, the more messy the situation in Iran could get,” Jones said. “It’s really hard to social engineer from the outside.”
Republicans, Democrats say no to US military strike against Iran as Trump mulls action: poll
Democrats and Republicans are united in opposing U.S. military strikes against Iran to retaliate for the killing of protesters amid a wave of massive demonstrations against the Iranian government in recent weeks, according to a new national poll.
Seventy percent of voters questioned in a new Quinnipiac University survey said they think the U.S. should not get involved militarily in Iran, with 18% saying the U.S. should take military action.
The vast majority of Independents (80%-11%) and Democrats (79%-7%), as well as a majority of Republicans (53%-35%) said the U.S. should not get involved if protesters in Iran are killed while demonstrating against the regime.
The poll, conducted Jan. 9–12, comes as President Donald Trump has turned up the heat on the regime in Tehran, threatening strikes on Iran if its forces continue to kill demonstrators.
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The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency announced Tuesday that nearly 2,000 people have been killed in the protests. Other reports say the death toll is over 3,000, with the real number likely to be even higher.
The protests against Iran’s dire economic conditions, which have rapidly escalated in recent days, are seen as some of the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that installed the current system of clerical rule.
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Trump took to social media earlier this week, urging “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS.”
The president also said that “HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” and apparently pointing to Iranian authorities, he warned, “They will pay a big price.”
Pointing to the possibility of Iranian authorities executing some of the protesters, Trump said in a CBS News interview this week, “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
And the White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing whether to bomb Iran in reaction to the crackdown.
But seven in 10 questioned in the poll said that, in general, a president should first receive congressional approval before deciding to take military action against another country.
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“Talk of the U.S. military potentially intervening in Iran’s internal chaos gets a vigorous thumbs down, while voters signal congressional approval should be a backstop against military involvement in any foreign crisis,” Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said.
But there’s a partisan divide, with 95% of Democrats and 78% of Independents saying a president should first receive approval from Congress, but Republicans, by a 54%-35% margin, saying congressional approval is not needed.
Trump last June ordered U.S. military strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities as part of Operation Midnight Hammer, amid fighting between Tehran and Israel.
Voters are also divided on Trump’s move earlier this month to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and bring them to the U.S. to face drug trafficking charges. Forty-seven percent supported the president’s decision, with 45% opposed.
And there was an expected partisan divide, with 85% of Republicans supporting the military action to capture Maduro, with 79% of Democrats opposed. Independents were divided.
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More than half of voters (57%) opposed the U.S. running Venezuela until Washington is satisfied that the government there will operate the way the U.S. wants it to. Nearly three-quarters (73%) said they opposed sending U.S. ground troops to Venezuela and 55% opposed the U.S. taking over the South American country’s oil sales.
“Voters are divided on the merits of overthrowing Maduro. And while split on whether in the long run the people of Venezuela will be better off, they strongly disapprove of America’s temporary domain over Venezuela and are heartily against putting U.S. troops on the ground,” Malloy noted.
Trump has also turned up the volume in his efforts to acquire Greenland from Denmark.
“The United States needs Greenland for the purpose of national security,” the president argued in a social media post Wednesday.
Trump’s push for the U.S. to acquire Greenland is causing tension with Denmark and other NATO allies who insist that the semiautonomous Danish territory should determine its own future.
Trump officials are openly considering all options, including military force, to take Greenland, spurring bipartisan opposition from some in Congress.
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According to the poll, 86% of voters said they would oppose military action to take over Greenland. And by a 55%-37% margin, voters said they opposed trying to buy Greenland.
But there’s a stark political divide, with more than two-thirds of Republicans supporting efforts to buy or capture Greenland.
France condemns Iran protest crackdown, weighs satellite internet aid amid blackout
EXCLUSIVE: France’s ambassador to the United Nations said Paris has strongly condemned Iran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests, as the French government weighs possible satellite communications support to help Iranians circumvent a near-total internet blackout.
In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Jerome Bonnafont described what he said was an escalation in repression by Iranian authorities and outlined France’s response, including sanctions and diplomatic pressure.
“We have condemned very, very strongly, at the highest level, the repression against the popular movement in Iran,” Bonnafont said. “This time it seems to me that the repression is even more violent than it used to be.”
IRANIAN DISSIDENT UNLOADS ON AMERICAN LEFT’S SILENCE ON DEADLY PROTESTS
His remarks come as France’s foreign minister confirmed Paris is studying the possible transfer of satellite terminals operated by Eutelsat to Iran, following a sweeping internet shutdown imposed by Iranian authorities during the unrest, and as the G7 issued a joint statement condemning Iran’s violent crackdown on nationwide protests.
The foreign ministers of France, the United States and other G7 nations warned they were prepared to impose additional restrictive measures if Iran continues to violate international human rights obligations.
Earlier Tuesday, Israel’s foreign minister, Gideon Saar, urged France to support designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization at the EU level during a call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot.
Asked whether France would back such a move, Bonnafont did not address the IRGC designation directly, instead emphasizing existing sanctions and international pressure.
“There are sanctions against the police of the regime. And there are sanctions also against several individuals, more than 200 people in Iran for these reasons,” he said.
“What we have to do is to condemn and to address the right message to the people in Iran and to the regime, so that the regime stops with this massive repression.”
IRAN’S KHAMENEI ISSUES DIRECT WARNING TO UNITED STATES IN RUSSIAN-LANGUAGE POSTS
NATO and Europe’s defense responsibility
Bonnafont also addressed repeated calls from President Donald Trump for European allies to shoulder more of NATO’s defense burden, arguing that Europe is already moving in that direction.
“There is a will by the Europeans to take the full responsibility of the protection of its own continent,” he said.
He stressed that the approach reflects a long-standing French position. “It is a very old theme for the French governments that there has to be within NATO an autonomous, self-capable entity for European defense,” Bonnafont said, referring to France’s long-standing advocacy for European strategic autonomy, a position repeatedly emphasized by President Emmanuel Macron.
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Ukraine as a test case
Bonnafont pointed to Europe’s response to Russia’s war in Ukraine as evidence that European governments are prepared to act collectively when core security interests are threatened.
“Ukraine has been attacked by Russia four years ago. Now it has been invaded by Russia, and it has decided to resist and to fight for its independence, its territorial integrity, its sovereignty,” he said.
He described European backing for Kyiv as both unified and extensive. “And Europeans are going in support of Ukraine. And what we are doing in terms of financial support is massive. What we are doing in terms of political support is unanimous,” Bonnafont said.
According to the ambassador, France and the United Kingdom are working to organize what he described as a “coalition of volunteers” to provide Ukraine with long-term security guarantees once negotiations with Russia become possible.
“When Ukraine enters into discussion with Russia, and when Russia accepts to enter into discussion with Ukraine, and when the elements of a peace, sustainable peace, are put on paper, Ukraine can have security guarantees,” he said.
Bonnafont also pointed to France’s domestic budget decisions as evidence that Europe is backing rhetoric with resources. “There is presently the negotiation of the next budget for France for 2026,” he said. “It includes a strong increase in our defense budget, and it is the only budget that is going to be increased in our whole budget this year.”
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UN reform and budget cuts
Beyond NATO and Europe’s defense posture, Bonnafont said France is pushing for institutional reform at the United Nations, where member states recently approved significant budget reductions. “The institution has to reform. It always has to reform,” he said.
“We decided by consensus with the American government and all the others a budget which presents a reduction of 20% of manpower and a reduction of 15% of the funds allocated to the U.N.,” Bonnafont added. “Give me another example of a public structure that is capable of such an effort in such a short time,” he said.
Despite the cuts, he defended the U.N.’s relevance. “Yes, we are serious about reform. Yes, we want it to be streamlined,” Bonnafont said. “But yes, we need the U.N. for the world.”
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UNRWA dispute and U.S. funding cuts
Asked about the U.S. decision to halt funding for several U.N. agencies, including UNRWA, Bonnafont defended the agencies, saying, “Organizations are more efficient when they are universal,” adding that participation remains a sovereign decision for the United States.
Trump told Iran has halted killings amid mounting protest pressure
President Donald Trump announced Wednesday afternoon from the Oval Office that he learned the killing in Iran has ended.
“We’ve been told that the killing in Iran is stopping, and it’s stopped and stopping, and there’s no plan for executions or an execution,” Trump said. “So, I’ve been told that on good authority. We’ll find out about.”
Trump made the announcement during a bill-signing ceremony in the Oval Office focused on ending an Obama-era policy barring public schools participating in the National School Lunch Program from offering whole and 2% milk to students.
Trump said he was informed by “very important sources on the other side, and they’ve said the killing is stopped. And the executions won’t take place.” He did not divulge additional details.
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“We’re going to watch and see what the process is. But we were given a very good, very good statement by people that are aware of what’s going on,” Trump said when asked if military action was off the table considering the update.
Iran’s citizens have taken to the streets in mass protests against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime in recent weeks, with reports claiming thousands of people have been killed as the regime cracks down on the protests. The protests come as the nation faces unrest over economic grievances and political repression.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency announced that 1,847 of the dead were protesters and 135 were members of Iran’s security forces. Other reports say the death toll is more than 3,000 people, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Iran’s judiciary had signaled a rapid crackdown, The Associated Press reported, with top judicial officials talking about fast-tracking trials for those arrested, a move that has raised alarms among rights groups about the risk of harsh sentences, including executions.
“But that’s just gotten to me, some information, that the killing has stopped,” Trump said. “That the executions have stopped and not going to have an execution, which a lot of people were talking about for the last couple of days. Today was going to be the day of execution.”
FETTERMAN ‘OPEN’ TO MORE US STRIKES ON IRAN AS REGIME ‘SLAUGHTERING THOUSANDS’
Trump and the administration have offered support to the protesters, including Trump calling on them to “take over” the country’s institutions on Tuesday while canceling all meetings with the regime.
“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” Trump posted to Truth Social Tuesday.
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The White House confirmed Monday that Trump was considering bombing Iran if the killings and unrest didn’t end, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said diplomacy remains Trump’s first option.
Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s permanent mission to the United Nations for additional comment but did not immediately receive a reply.
The protests are viewed as the most severe since 2022, when thousands took to the streets nationwide after the killing of a woman by the country’s morality police.
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G7 threatens Iran with new sanctions over nationwide protest crackdown killing thousands
The Group of Seven (G7) nations warned Iran on Wednesday that they are prepared to impose additional sanctions on the country if the regime continues with its violent crackdown on protests.
In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S., joined by the European Union’s high representative, expressed “grave concern” over the reports of mass casualties, widespread injuries and alleged human rights abuses as a result of the spiraling unrest.
IRANIAN DISSIDENT UNLOADS ON AMERICAN LEFT’S SILENCE ON DEADLY PROTESTS
The development comes as Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) announced the deaths of 2,403 protesters. Other reports say the death toll is over 3,000, with the real number likely to be higher.
“We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union, are gravely concerned by the developments surrounding the ongoing protests in Iran,” the statement said.
“We strongly oppose the intensification of the Iranian authorities’ brutal repression of the Iranian people, who have been bravely voicing legitimate aspirations for a better life, dignity and freedom, since the end of December 2025,” it read.
The G7 also stated it was “deeply alarmed at reports of deaths and injuries” and condemned what it described as the “deliberate use of violence and the killing of protesters, arbitrary detention, and intimidation tactics by security forces against demonstrators.”
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The protests, which began Dec. 28, came amid deepening economic distress and the collapse of the Iranian rial. They quickly spread nationwide and evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations.
The G7 ministers also urged Iranian authorities to show restraint and end the use of force against civilians, calling on Tehran to respect its international obligations and protect the rights to “freedom of expression, to seek, receive and impart information, and the freedom of association and peaceful assembly, without fear of reprisal.”
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While the joint statement did not list specific new sanctions, it made clear that additional action remains on the table, signaling unity among leading Western powers.
“Iran’s continued crackdown in violation of international human rights obligations could prompt further restrictive measures from the G7,” the ministers said.
Republicans light cigars, cigarettes on burning photos of Khamenei to show support for Iranian protesters
Republican lawmakers are jumping on a social media trend to show their support for the anti-regime protesters in Iran.
Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., and Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., posted photos of themselves using burning photos of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to light up a cigarette and a cigar, respectively. Both lawmakers used the caption “Smoke ’em if you got ’em.”
The lawmaker’s images mirror a social media trend in which people are using burning photos of Khamenei to light cigarettes and cigars. The trend emerged as the people of Iran hold increasingly intense protests against the Islamic regime. The movement against the regime has seen increasing support from abroad as world leaders back the people of Iran.
FREED IRANIAN PRISONER SAYS ‘IN TRUMP, THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC HAS MET ITS MATCH’
Khamenei’s regime has started to crack down on protests and even instituted a sweeping internet blackout to try to quell the unrest. Some have posited that the internet blackout was also meant to impede the spreading of information about and visuals of abuses committed against protesters by regime-backed forces.
Recently, the exiled Iranian crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has publicly urged President Donald Trump and the U.S. to back protesters in Iran as they fight the decades-old regime.
Sheehy told Fox News Digital he takes the issue personally, saying Iran has participated in the torturing, kidnapping and killing of Americans across the globe, “including friends of mine.”
“The Iranian regime are a bunch of murderous b——- who have been chanting ‘death to America’ for the past 46 years. They have backed up this chant by kidnapping, torturing, and killing thousands of Americans all over the world, including friends of mine. For me, it’s personal; it’s time to take out the trash,” Sheehy said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital via email.
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The senator also expressed his solidarity with the people of Iran and encouraged them to keep fighting the regime.
“To the Iranian people — we applaud your courage, keep fighting, and know we fully support your brave efforts to topple this evil regime,” he added.
Tenney’s office also spoke with Fox News Digital about the congresswoman’s post, praising the bravery of the people of Iran for standing up to the regime. Additionally, Tenney’s office expressed the congresswoman’s solidarity with the Iranian people.
“The bravery of the Iranian people in the face of decades of oppression by a brutal, extremist regime is extraordinary. Men and women across Iran are risking their lives to stand up to authoritarian mullahs who have denied them basic freedoms for generations,” Tenney’s office said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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“The congresswoman stands firmly with the Iranian people and their demand for dignity and self-determination, and believes their courage must be recognized and amplified. Today, the Iranian people finally have an ally in the White House, President Trump, who has made clear that the United States stands with those fighting for freedom against tyranny,” Tenney’s office added.
Trump has been vocal about his support for the people of Iran and has warned that the U.S. would be ready to step in if the regime used violence against protesters.
“Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before,” the president wrote in a Truth Social post on Jan. 10. “The USA stands ready to help!!!”
Iran protests instigated by Israel to distract from Gaza ‘genocide,’ Columbia professor claims
An Iranian studies professor at an Ivy League university slammed Israel’s alleged participation in protests in Iran, which have turned violent as the country’s dictatorial regime fights back.
“What you are seeing today is Israel instigated revolt, because there are Mossad agents in the streets of Tehran hiding among Iranian demonstrators,” said Columbia University professor Hamid Dabashi in an interview with Al Jazeera.
Dabashi pointed to a recent X post by former CIA director Mike Pompeo, in which Pompeo referenced Mossad agents among the protesters.
“The Iranian regime is in trouble. Bringing in mercenaries is its last best hope,” Pompeo said in a Jan. 2 post. “Riots in dozens of cities and the Basij under siege — Mashed, Tehran, Zahedan. Next stop: Baluchistan. 47 years of this regime; POTUS 47. Coincidence? Happy New Year to every Iranian in the streets. Also to every Mossad agent walking beside them…”
ISRAELI COLUMBIA PROFESSOR LEAVES SCHOOL OVER FAILURE TO ADDRESS ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS
“In addition, over the last few days we have seen Israeli flags in Tehran among the protesters,” said Dabashi. “What is the Israeli flag doing in Iran?”
“So, when we study — when we look at the events unfolding in Iran, we have to be very careful making a distinction between a legitimate protest of Iranians against their government because of the economic crisis, and the imbalance between [the] Rial and dollar, and illegitimate Israel-instigated protests for their own nefarious reasons.”
Dabashi finished by claiming that Israel is influencing the protests to “distract attention from the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and the continued theft of Palestinian territories in the West Bank.
“Professor Dabashi, like all members of the Columbia community, is entitled to express personal views, including those with which others may strongly disagree,” a university spokesman told Fox News Digital. “The opinions he has expressed are his own and do not represent Columbia.”
Dabashi did not return a request for comment.
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Columbia has been dogged by accusations of antisemitism, and was home to some of the most virulent anti-Israel protests and encampments during the two-year war stemming from Hamas’ 2023 terrorist attack on Israeli concertgoers.
In July, President Donald Trump secured a $21 million settlement with the New York school specifically to settle claims of antisemitic employment discrimination against Jewish faculty after the Oct. 7, 2023. Overall, the school forked over a total of $221 million amid a flurry of other federal investigations.
The school established an antisemitism task force to tackle the allegations, culminating in a December report.
“In the course of its work, the Task Force has heard of the isolation and pain many Jewish and Israeli Columbia affiliates have experienced in recent months,” the report said. “While mourning Hamas’s unspeakable atrocities on October 7, some Jewish and Israeli Columbia affiliates have been the object of racist epithets and graffiti, antisemitic tropes, and confrontational and unwelcome questions, while others have found their participation in some student groups that have nothing to do with politics to be increasingly uncomfortable.”
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In a message announcing the release of the report, Columbia’s acting president, Claire Shipman, said the school is balancing academic freedom of expression and preventing discrimination.
Freed Iranian prisoner says ‘in Trump, the Islamic Republic has met its match’
Former Washington Post Tehran correspondent Jason Rezaian, who spent 544 days as a political prisoner in Iran, called on President Donald Trump to take the current Iranian regime by surprise and begin planning for a post-Islamic Republic era.
In a Tuesday op-ed, Rezaian recounted his 2014 arrest by the Iranian government, which he said stemmed from his work covering nuclear negotiations with the United States. He wrote that this coverage “ultimately resulted in my being taken hostage and used as leverage” in the very negotiations he was covering.
Rezaian, who now works as the Post’s director of press freedom initiatives, said for the first time since leaving Iran in 2016, he was allowing himself to feel hope that he might one day return as protesters seek to topple Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his regime.
IRAN REGIME OPENED FIRE WITH LIVE AMMUNITION ON PROTESTERS, DOCTOR SAYS: ‘SHOOT-TO-KILL’
The journalist argued that it is a fallacy to claim that the U.S. never exerted its power over Iran prior to Trump taking office.
“It’s a fiction that the U.S. never exerted pressure on Iran before Trump. He inherited an architecture that he extended and enforced more strictly. Arguably, though, what has been his most effective tool against Iran is the element of surprise that has left Iran unable to predict what he will do next, from approving the 2020 killing of Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force, or the bombing campaign Trump ordered on Iranian nuclear sites in June,” he contended.
According to Rezaian, it was “American consistency, not weakness,” that Tehran had long taken advantage of in regard to American leadership.
“In Trump, the Islamic Republic has met its match: a much stronger adversary who, like their leadership, believes that rules don’t apply to him,” he argued.
TRUMP SAYS THE U.S. WILL TAKE ‘VERY STRONG ACTION’ AGAINST IRAN IF THE REGIME STARTS HANGING PROTESTERS
Although Rezaian typically avoids making predictions about Iran, he said “two things seem very clear” about the situation unfolding in the country.
“First, no matter how sophisticated and educated many Iranians are, there is and will be an understandable desire for retribution against the old guard for decades of harsh injustices. A law-based approach to accountability within Iran and at international tribunals would pay many more dividends than wrecking existing institutions that ordinary citizens rely on,” he maintained. “Continuity will be essential for an orderly transition.”
His second prediction was that “when the regime finally falls, whoever will lead Iran next is almost certainly living there now,” adding that it would be “unrealistic and frankly unfair” to expect the long-exiled son of the shah overthrown in 1979 — Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi — to take over as Khamenei’s successor.
“Whether that person, whomever it turns out to be, would be better able to provide for the needs of Iranians and ensure a brighter future than the country’s current authoritarian rulers is still anyone’s guess,” he cautioned.
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With the country’s potential new leadership still up in the air, Rezaian urged the Trump administration to “do what its predecessors failed to do for decades. Stop taking its cues from experts and charlatans in Washington and build bridges to changemakers within Iran.”
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to continue protesting and assured them that help is on the way, possibly hinting at U.S. intervention in the conflict.
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“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Fetterman ‘open’ to more US strikes on Iran as regime ‘slaughtering thousands’
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said he is open to additional U.S. airstrikes on Iran after reports of mass casualties among civilian protesters, citing last year’s operation that targeted the regime’s nuclear infrastructure during its war with Israel.
“They are quite literally slaughtering thousands and thousands of them and executing their own people in the street. So for me, I think that’s why I’m gonna remain open to this because… [it] absolutely was the right thing that happened when we struck the nuclear facilities,” Fetterman told “Hannity” Tuesday.
Fetterman’s comments follow reports suggesting thousands, possibly even tens of thousands, of Iranians have been killed and even more have been detained.
The Pennsylvania senator claimed that military action, not sanctions, has been the only effective response to Tehran’s behavior.
IRANIAN DISSIDENT UNLOADS ON AMERICAN LEFT’S SILENCE ON DEADLY PROTESTS
“Sanctions and other things really haven’t worked. What actually really worked with Iran was the strike [on the] nuclear facilities,” he said. “That changed the entire dynamic in the Middle East… and now that helped trigger [unrest] in Iran.”
Fetterman was referring to Operation Midnight Hammer, a U.S. military strike in June 2025 that targeted three Iranian nuclear sites and aimed to significantly damage the theocracy’s nuclear program amid rising regional tensions. U.S. leaders called the mission a major success, while Tehran downplayed its impact.
Fetterman argued that American engagement could be the catalyst needed to “put this thing over the top and break this awful regime,” claiming the Ayatollah’s government was “summarily executing” young people.
“The bodies are stacked up in body bags everywhere,” he said.
FETTERMAN BREAKS WITH DEMOCRATS TO BACK TRUMP TAKING MILITARY ACTION IN IRAN IF NECESSARY
He stressed that further action would not have to involve troops on the ground and rejected a comparison to America’s involvement in Iraq, saying, “This is not a boots-on-the-ground thing.”
“This is not Iraq… This is us standing with those protesters,” he said.
Fetterman hopes widespread protests against the Iranian government could “create a new nation” and stop the Tehran “death spiral.”
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“Why wouldn’t we want to be ready to provide the kind of bump to… finally break this regime?”
Iran pushes for fast trials and executions of suspects detained in protests despite Trump’s warning: report
Despite President Donald Trump’s warnings, Iran’s chief justice called for fast trials and executions of suspects detained in the ongoing anti-government demonstrations, a report said Wednesday.
The remarks from Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei come as the death toll in the protests has risen to at least 2,571, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said. Other reports say the death toll is more than 3,000, with the real number likely to be even higher.
“If we want to do a job, we should do it now. If we want to do something, we have to do it quickly,” Mohseni-Ejei said in a video shared by Iranian state television, according to The Associated Press. “If it becomes late, two months, three months later, it doesn’t have the same effect. If we want to do something, we have to do that fast.”
Trump warned Iran about executions in an interview with CBS News that aired on Tuesday.
SOME US MILITARY PERSONNEL TOLD TO LEAVE MIDDLE EAST BASES, US OFFICIAL CONFIRMS
“We will take very strong action,” Trump said. “If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.”
“We don’t want to see what’s happening in Iran happen. And you know, if they want to have protests, that’s one thing, when they start killing thousands of people, and now you’re telling me about hanging — we’ll see how that works out for them. It’s not going to work out good,” the president added.
IRANIAN REGIME TARGETING STARLINK USERS IN BID TO SQUASH LEAKING PROTEST FOOTAGE
Trump also vowed on Tuesday that those responsible for killing anti-regime demonstrators will “pay a big price.”
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
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“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” he added.
Mamdani finally speaks out about Iranian regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani noted that he does not support Iran’s deadly crackdown against protesters.
“I absolutely do not support the way the Iranian government has responded to that,” he said during a press conference on Tuesday when asked about Iran.
“I think that the Iranian government and every government should respect the right of people to express their political opinions, and for people to be able to do so safely,” he stated.
HOCHUL, AOC, MAMDANI SLAM ‘WE SUPPORT HAMAS’ CHANTS AT QUEENS PROTEST: ‘DISGUSTING AND ANTISEMITIC’
Mamdani, a self-described Democratic socialist, was sworn in at the start of this year.
Last year he met with President Donald Trump after winning the mayoral contest.
MAMDANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP HAVE BEEN TEXTING AT LEAST TWICE A WEEK — AS UNLIKELY BROMANCE BLOSSOMS: SOURCES
“I’ve exchanged a handful of texts with the president since we met in the Oval Office,” Mamdani said on Tuesday.
“And those texts, the conversations that we’ve had, they always come back to New York City and the importance of delivering for the people who call this city home,” he noted.
Trump has been signaling that the U.S. will take action to support Iranian dissidents.
IRAN REGIME OPENED FIRE WITH LIVE AMMUNITION ON PROTESTERS, DOCTOR SAYS: ‘SHOOT-TO-KILL’
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“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING — TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!! Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price. I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY. MIGA!!!” he declared in a Tuesday Truth Social post, using the acronym that stands for “Make Iran Great Again.”
Some US military personnel told to leave Middle East bases, US official confirms
Some U.S. military personnel have been told to leave bases in the Middle East, Fox News has learned.
The order comes amid widespread protests in Iran and threats to intervene from President Donald Trump. Qatar’s government confirmed that some U.S. personnel had departed from the Al Udeid Air Base, America’s largest military base in the Middle East.
Qatar’s International Media Office said the steps were part of broader efforts to safeguard the security of citizens and residents and to protect critical infrastructure and military facilities, adding that any further developments would be announced through official channels.
Trump said on Tuesday that he cut off meetings with the Iranian regime, saying there would be no contact until the government stops killing protesters. He also urged the Iranian people to “take over” the country.
LIZ PEEK: TRUMP IS PUTTING AMERICA FIRST BY BACKING IRAN INTO A CORNER
“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Save the names of the killers and abusers. They will pay a big price.”
“I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY,” he added.
Trump has repeatedly suggested that the U.S. may intervene against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime, but he has not offered details of any plans.
NETANYAHU AND RUBIO DISCUSS US MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAN AMID ONGOING NATIONWIDE PROTESTS: REPORT
Reports say Iranian authorities have killed more than 2,500 people, though the actual total could be much higher.
The White House confirmed on Monday that Trump was weighing whether to bomb Iran in reaction to the crackdown.
IRAN’S ‘DISTINCTIVE’ DRONE DEPLOYMENT SEES DEATH TOLL SOAR AMID VIOLENT PROTESTS
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that diplomacy remains Trump’s first option, but that the president “has shown he’s unafraid to use military options if and when he deems necessary.”
“He certainly doesn’t want to see people being killed in the streets of Tehran. And unfortunately that’s something we are seeing right now,” she added.
Iranian authorities have used deadly force against anti-regime protesters and have cut off public internet access in an effort to stop images and video from spreading across the globe.
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The protests represent the highest level of unrest Iran has seen since nationwide protests against the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of morality police in 2022.
US freezes all visa processing for 75 countries, including Somalia, Russia, Iran
FIRST ON FOX: The State Department is pausing immigrant visa processing for 75 countries in an effort to crack down on applicants deemed likely to become a public charge.
A State Department memo, seen first by Fox News Digital, directs consular officers to refuse visas under existing law while the department reassesses screening and vetting procedures.
The countries include Somalia, Russia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Nigeria, Thailand, Yemen and more.
The pause will begin Jan. 21 and will continue indefinitely until the department conducts a reassessment of immigrant visa processing.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT MINNESOTA’S ‘FEEDING OUR FUTURE’ FRAUD AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S LATEST CRACKDOWN
Somalia has drawn heightened scrutiny from federal officials following a sweeping fraud scandal centered in Minnesota, where prosecutors uncovered massive abuse of taxpayer-funded benefit programs. Many of those involved are Somali nationals or Somali-Americans.
In November 2025, a State Department cable sent to posts around the globe instructed consular officers to enforce sweeping new screening rules under the so-called “public charge” provision of immigration law.
The guidance instructs consular officers to deny visas to applicants deemed likely to rely on public benefits, weighing a wide range of factors including health, age, English proficiency, finances and even potential need for long-term medical care.
Older or overweight applicants could be denied, along with those who had any past use of government cash assistance or institutionalization.
“The State Department will use its long-standing authority to deem ineligible potential immigrants who would become a public charge on the United States and exploit the generosity of the American people,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggott said in a statement.
“Immigration from these 75 countries will be paused while the State Department reassess immigration processing procedures to prevent the entry of foreign nationals who would take welfare and public benefits.”
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION REVOKES MORE THAN 100,000 VISAS IN FIRST YEAR BACK
While the public charge provision has existed for decades, enforcement has varied widely across administrations, with consular officers historically given broad discretion in applying the standard.
Exceptions to the new pause will be “very limited” and only allowed after an applicant has cleared public charge considerations.
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A 2022 version of the public charge rule under the Biden administration had limited the scope of benefits considered — primarily to cash assistance and long-term institutional care — excluding programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the federal supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children, known as WIC, Medicaid or housing vouchers.
The Immigration and Nationality Act has long permitted consular officers to deem applicants inadmissible on public charge grounds, but President Donald Trump in 2019 expanded the definition to include a broader range of public benefits. That expansion was challenged in court, with portions ultimately blocked before being rescinded by the Biden administration.
The full list of countries comprises of Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bhutan, Bosnia, Brazil, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of the Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Yemen.
Iran regime opened fire with live ammunition on protesters, doctor says: ‘Shoot-to-kill’
Iranian security forces escalated from pellet guns to live ammunition during protests, sharply increasing casualties, a doctor who treated wounded demonstrators told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).
Speaking after fleeing the country, the doctor told CHRI the use of live fire increased the death toll days after protests erupted Dec. 28.
“Law enforcement forces were firing pellet shotguns that scatter pellets. During those days, I received five or six calls per day about people who had been hit by two pellets in the back or pellets to the head or scalp,” the doctor claimed.
The doctor said he noticed the situation shifted on Jan. 8, when authorities imposed internet blackouts and cut off communication nationwide.
NETANYAHU AND RUBIO DISCUSS US MILITARY INTERVENTION IN IRAN AMID ONGOING NATIONWIDE PROTESTS: REPORT
“From about 8:10 to 8:20 pm, the sound of bullets, gunfire, screams, and sporadic explosions could be heard. I was called to the hospital. When I arrived, I saw that the nature of the injuries and the number of gunshot wounds had changed completely,” the doctor said of the days around the blackout.
“The situation was totally different. Shots from close range, injuries leading to death.”
Human rights groups say thousands have been killed as security forces moved to suppress the demonstrations, with some estimates placing the death toll above 3,000, Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported Tuesday.
The protests were fueled by anger over economic hardship, rising prices and inflation before expanding into broader anti-government demonstrations.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN ‘STARTING TO’ CROSS US RED LINES AS PROTESTERS DIE IN GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN
“The calls I received on my home phone for medical advice were no longer about pellet wounds,” the doctor said. “People were saying they had been shot, with bullets entering one side of the body and exiting the other. Live ammunition.”
Describing scenes in Isfahan, which is a major protest hub, the doctor said streets were stained with blood as security forces deployed heavier weapons.
“A large amount of blood, about a liter, had pooled in the gutter and blood trails extended for several meters,” the doctor claimed.
“The level and intensity of violence increased step by step,” he said before describing a change in aggression on Jan. 9.
IRANIAN HOSPITALS OVERWHELMED WITH INJURIES AS PROTESTS RAGE ACROSS ISLAMIC REPUBLIC
“On Friday night, I heard automatic gunfire. I am familiar with weapons and can distinguish their sounds. I heard DShK heavy machine guns. I heard PK machine guns.
“These weapons are in the possession of IRGC units — DShKs, PK machine guns, and Kalashnikovs,” the doctor said. “The trauma cases I saw were brutal, shoot-to-kill.”
Victims ranged from teenagers to elderly men, the doctor said. Some injuries were so severe that bodies were unrecognizable.
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“One colleague said that during a night shift, eight bodies were brought in with gunshot wounds to the face; their faces were unrecognizable. Many bodies are not identifiable at all,” he added.
The account comes as President Donald Trump publicly voiced support for Iranian protesters.
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to “take over” their institutions, saying he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the crackdown ends.