DAY 333 | Iran kills because it expects no consequences

Khamenei himself bears the responsibility for this bloodshed

JANUARY 19, 2026 05:59 — Iran’s supreme leader has now openly acknowledged what the Islamic Republic has spent weeks trying to obscure from the world.

In remarks carried by Iranian state media on Saturday, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admitted that “several thousand deaths” had occurred during Iran’s latest wave of nationwide protests, while blaming the United States and Israel for the bloodshed.

Protesters, he declared, were “criminals,” “mercenaries,” and mohareb (enemies of God) – a charge that carries the death penalty under Iranian law.

For over four decades, the Islamic Republic has relied on a familiar formula for survival. It begins with repression at home, then blames foreign intervention, and waits for the world to hesitate.

When Iranians protest corruption or inflation, the regime’s response is lethal force. And when the death toll mounts, Tehran redirects responsibility outward, confident that international outrage will stop short of any consequential acts. This is one way the regime has firmly held on to power.

The current unrest represents the most serious challenge to the regime since the 2022 Mahsa Amini protests, and arguably since the Islamic Republic’s inception in 1979.

"No Iranian embassies have been closed. Nor have any ambassadors been recalled. Diplomatic relations continue largely uninterrupted, even as the regime openly threatens mass executions."

Human rights organizations estimate that more than 16,000 people have been killed and tens of thousands arrested – the official death rate is currently at 5,000. Internet access has been repeatedly cut to prevent coordination between protesters and to obscure the scale of the crackdown.

Iranian officials have publicly warned that detainees will face “severe punishment.” Yet the international response to the crackdown has followed a familiar, and frankly inadequate, pattern. Expressions of concern and carefully worded condemnations are followed by little action.

"The United Nations, for its part, has offered statements and procedural gestures — in other words, thoughts and prayers."

No Iranian embassies have been closed. Nor have any ambassadors been recalled. Diplomatic relations continue largely uninterrupted, even as the regime openly threatens mass executions. Tehran remains seated at international forums, its representatives treated as normal partners in conversation, while protesters are labeled terrorists at home.

The United Nations, for its part, has offered statements and procedural gestures, but no decisive action. There has been no binding resolution, no meaningful investigative mechanism, and no coordinated international response that signals real cost. It is something the regime must be thriving on.

Out on a limb

In recent weeks, Iranian protesters have appealed directly to outside powers, particularly the United States and Israel. Handwritten signs addressed to US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have appeared at demonstrations. Video messages circulate online calling for help.

Streets have reportedly been renamed in honor of foreign leaders seen as potential protectors. The two leaders have been specifically targeted because they have expressed the most support for Iranians, and Trump even explicitly warned that killing protesters would carry consequences.

Expectations have been raised among people in Iran risking their lives, while the regime learns once again that threats fade faster than repression.

The regime has responded to Trump’s threats, adding that any Israeli incursion to help the protesters will be met with force. It appears that a dying regime in its last death throes is regarded as more dangerous than has been the case in the past.

Meanwhile, time is on the regime’s side for the moment. Time allows security forces to regroup, prisons to fill, and the regime to continue spreading fear to reassert itself. Every pause from the outside world extends the Islamic Republic’s lifeline.

Blaming foreign interference serves another purpose. It frames the reality of what is taking place on the ground – genuine grievances in the face of the country’s economy and repression – as “foreign warfare.” This is not a legitimate claim, but it gives the regime the excuse it needs for mass violence.

Why is the world letting Khamenei get away with it?

Khamenei himself bears the responsibility for this bloodshed. In previous rounds of demonstrations, he has had no qualms directing security forces to take blood in order to keep the ayatollahs in power.

The real question is why the world is still allowing him to get away with it.

The supreme leader can acknowledge thousands of deaths, threaten more, and still expect delay, division, and indecisiveness from abroad.

Khamenei is not surviving because he is in a uniquely strong position as a leader. Rather, he is surviving because he takes the chance to crack down on any dissent, firm in the belief that outsiders will not call him to account for his crimes.

After three and a half decades in power, he knows how to play the game. But this time, the rules should be different, and his gamble should not be allowed to pay off.

— DPN update (Jan. 19, 15:43 UTC): The United States is repositioning major naval forces toward the Persian Gulf amid escalating tensions with Iran and ongoing protests. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CVN-72) is expected to arrive in the Arabian Sea/Persian Gulf region around January 23–25, 2026.

Informed sources and defense reports indicate these assets could support rapid precision strikes on IRGC bases, command centers, air defenses, or leadership targets to weaken regime control and potentially accelerate internal collapse amid unrest. (Agencies, AI).

Source: jpost.com, Staff, January 19, 2026

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