After Weeks of Violence, the Iranian State Hobbles On
Amid an internet blackout, reports describe waves of catastrophic violence across Iran. Yet the ruling order remains firmly in control, even as an economic crisis erodes the welfare systems that once underpinned its legitimacy.
In over two weeks of protests, more than 2,000 people have been killed and almost 19,000 arrested by the Iranian state. But there is little sign that the revolts have weakened the state’s power. (Morteza Nikoubazl / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
After the bloodiest domestic crackdown in the history of the Islamic Republic, protests have died down since their peak last Thursday evening, the beginning of the Iranian weekend. Over January 8–9, violence erupted across the nation. Reuters reported on January 13 that two thousand protesters have been killed by Iranian security services, a number that is “close to reality” according to a senior Iranian political source, quoted by Amwaj.media. Iranians are currently in a state of shock. They are stuck between two fears: fear of life under the ruling order, and fear of the void that might replace it.
Information is currently extremely difficult to access, owing to the ongoing internet blackout and rife disinformation online. Despite this, footage has emerged of Iranian security services firing at protesters and even women shot in the head; state media has for the first time broadcast video of its repression. On January 13, a broadcast aired from a forensics facility south of Tehran showing scores of filled body bags laid out on the floor of a large hall.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.