Nights in Tehran, Iran, are increasingly violent, an Iranian woman who recently left Iran told The Epoch Times.

She said security forces often move through crowds on motorcycles, firing indiscriminately. She said in the mornings she saw bodies in public areas and blood on the streets.

The streets, which fill with crowds each day by late afternoon, resemble “front lines,” and the sound of gunfire filters into people’s homes, she said. The woman, who asked not to be identified for safety reasons, said she had traveled to Tehran to visit family shortly before the protests began. She left the country on Jan. 12 to return to the Netherlands.

The current protests are far larger and more intense than previous unrest, she said, including the unrest following the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. Amini was a Kurdish Iranian woman whose arrest and subsequent death sparked protests across the globe.

The mood in Tehran is quiet and heavy, she said, with people looking exhausted and sad.

As protests in Iran against the regime stretched beyond two weeks, U.S. President Donald Trump issued his strongest and most direct message yet in support of protesters, urging them to “take over [their] institutions” and “save the names of the killers and abusers.”

He wrote in all caps, “Help is on the way.”

In a post on Truth Social on Jan. 13, Trump said he will not hold meetings with Iranian officials until the killing of protesters stops and warned that those responsible will “pay a big price.”

Iran’s protests have spread across the country as residents face a sixth consecutive day of a near-total internet shutdown.

Government agents in some areas are going door to door and removing satellite dishes from homes, according to reports by the Associated Press. Satellite television is widely used in Iran, and many families rely on it to access foreign news not available through state-controlled media. These actions, combined with the internet blackout, have made it increasingly difficult for people inside the country to communicate or share information.

The communications clampdown has also made it challenging to assess the actual death toll, which is feared to be much higher than estimates, which vary widely. London-based news channel Iran International reported on Jan. 13 that after a two-day, multisource verification process involving information from senior security and government sources, eyewitnesses, hospital data, and medical professionals, it has concluded that at least 12,000 people have been killed, mainly over two consecutive nights in early January.

According to the outlet, the deaths resulted from a coordinated operation carried out primarily by Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij forces, not from spontaneous clashes. Sources indicate that the operation was conducted under direct orders from Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, with the approval of Iran’s top governing bodies, Iran International reported. Many of the victims were younger than 30.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported on Jan. 12 that at least 646 people had been killed (including 505 protesters and nine children) and that more than 10,721 protesters had been arrested.

(Top Left) Iranians block a street, and vehicles are set on fire during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8–9, 2026. (Top Center) A vehicle burns during protests in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Top Right) Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026. (Bottom Left) People gather during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Bottom Center) People gather during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (Bottom Right) A dumpster burns during unrest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 8, 2026. (MAHSA/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images, Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images, Anonymous/Getty Images)

“In addition, 579 other reports of deaths remain under review,” the group stated online.

An Iranian official confirmed to Reuters on Jan. 13 that at least 2,000 people have been killed, blaming “terrorists.”

Even by conservative estimates, the death toll from the current protests is the highest from any round of unrest in Iran in decades.

In recent days, images and video footage circulating online have shown large numbers of bodies at forensic facilities in Iran as families gather to mourn and identify the dead. The footage has increased international concern over the scale of the clampdown on protesters, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the rising death toll “horrifying” in a Jan. 12 social media post.

“The European Union has already listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety under its human rights sanctions regime,” Von der Leyen said.

Several European countries, including Spain, France, and Belgium, have summoned Iranian ambassadors in protest and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola announced on X that she had banned all Iranian diplomatic staff and representatives from all European Parliament premises.

Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian blamed the deadly violence on what he described as terrorists and rioters, and organized a pro-government rally on Jan. 12. He claimed that the killings were carried out by armed groups and denied responsibility by state security forces.

A man burns a photo of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a protest at the Iranian Consulate in Milan, Italy, on Jan. 12, 2026. As protests in Iran against the regime stretched beyond two weeks, President Donald Trump on Jan. 13 issued his strongest and most direct message yet in support of protesters. (Claudio Furlan/LaPresse via AP)

US Weighs Options

“If Iran [shoots] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 2. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

The next day, the United States arrested former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro at his residence in Caracas, Venezuela, and transferred him to the United States to face prosecution.

In the days that followed, prominent figures, including Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, expressed hope that Trump would take similar decisive action against Iran.

Pahlavi posted on X on Jan. 12: “The President is a man of action and a man of peace. Now, he can act to bring about the greatest peace the world has ever seen: by helping Iranians finally end this criminal regime.”

Graham said in a Jan. 13 post on X that “the death blow to the ayatollah is going to be a combination of the incredible patriotic bravery of the protestors, and decisive action by President Trump.”

Pahlavi has emerged as a central figure in the protest movement and his name is widely chanted both inside and outside the country.

Protesters hold placards featuring Reza Pahlavi, an Iranian dissident in exile in the United States and son of Iran’s last shah, and wave Pahlavi-era flags during a demonstration against the Iranian regime at Stephansplatz in Vienna, Austria, on Jan. 11, 2026. (Joe Klamar/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump has continued to voice support for protesters. On Jan. 11, he told reporters that Iranian officials had expressed interest in negotiations. He raised the possibility of talks, while also warning that the United States could respond to the killing of protesters.

On Jan. 12, the president announced a 25 percent tariff on any country that conducts trade with Iran.

The next day, Trump said there would be no negotiations with Iran’s Islamic regime.

Bijan Kian, a national security analyst, told The Epoch Times that a U.S. confrontation with Iran’s ruling system would not necessarily require ground forces. The Islamic Republic understands that it is weaker now than in the past, he said, and is aware that the United States could further weaken it by targeting the top of the system.

According to Kian, such actions could include strikes on command-and-control centers, coordination hubs used for internal repression, the Supreme National Security Council, and other sites that are both symbolically significant and operationally critical.

Kian said the Iran issue extends beyond human rights concerns, arguing that the collapse of the Islamic Republic, which he described as a supporter of terrorist groups and a strategic backer of the Chinese Communist Party, would align with U.S. strategic interests.

Iranians gather while blocking a street during a protest in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026. The nationwide protests started in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar against the failing economic policies in late December 2025, and spread to universities and other cities, and broadened to wider discontent about the regime. (Khoshiran/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)

The Iranian people will ultimately prevail, Kian said, because the Islamic Republic is institutionally bankrupt and no longer represents the will of the population.

Pahlavi said on Jan. 12 that the Iranian regime “is weak and on its back legs,” and warned against renewed negotiations that could allow authorities time to regroup. He said Iranians are ready to bring about change themselves and are not calling for foreign troops but for decisive international action to prevent further bloodshed.

The Iranian woman who spoke to The Epoch Times said protest turnout increased sharply after Pahlavi issued a public call for action. Chants calling for his return to Iran and slogans against the ruling system were widely heard, she said.

She said she believes that some of the forces involved in the clampdown have been brought in from Iraq, noting, “I personally heard them speaking Arabic.”

Beyond the violence, she described shortages across the city. Basic food items such as rice and cooking oil are no longer available, even with government ration cards, and many stores are half-empty. She said deliveries have slowed and that some private producers may also be on strike.

She described intimidation tactics, including text messages sent by authorities warning that terrorists are in the crowds. Families of those killed or injured are sometimes pressured to pay fees before bodies are released, she said, noting that residents have reported dizziness and headaches from white smoke released over parts of Tehran, which she believes is intended to keep people from going out.