As protests continued, reports from inside Iran described mass killings, families denied bodies or humane care, and a nation gripped by fear as the regime moved swiftly to crush protests.

Through February, the situation escalated into something far worse than most expected. To find out about the events that led us to this point, click here.

The people of Iran continue to pay a staggering human and emotional price, while rising tensions and talk of international war add further pressure. Please pray for Iran — for comfort, courage and spiritual awakening. And if you’re able, send urgent humanitarian relief to families facing severe hardship and food shortages.

The Tragedy of What the Iranian Government Did to Their Own People in 2026

“So Many Youth Have Been Killed”

On January 25, 2026, Transform Iran pastors received a heart wrenching voice note from one of our team in the country:

I beg you: please don’t stop demonstrating and raising awareness. We no longer even dare to freely walk about in our own towns and streets any more. It is clear to us now that no help is coming from Western leaders. Our only hope now is you. I’m begging you, please alert your friends. Tell them, SO MANY young people have been killed [sobs]. So many! So many! For the sake of these young people… [gets cut off]

Over the weeks that followed, we received countless reports of deaths. Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. No one was left untouched. Our staff received devastating news about relatives and friends, as well as converts who they had been counseling and mentoring. The authorities were merciless. In one case, a 24-year-old man was shot in the leg and was bleeding out. Security forces were present at the scene and prevented medical assistance from reaching him. He soon died of his injuries.

Bodies Withheld, Funerals Banned

With little exception, bodies of the dead were gathered by the forces, and relatives were demanded to pay up to 1 billion tomans (closing in on 7,000 USD – an unattainable amount for the vast majority) to retrieve them. Public funeral ceremonies were prohibited. We also had multiple reports of families being forced to sign documents confirming that their fallen relatives were members of the Basiji forces. This will inevitably inform the official statistics Iranian authorities will release, downplaying the number of lives taken from the Iranian people.

Without doubt tens of thousands have been killed. We believe the the death toll now exceeds 50,000 and will very likely land much higher than that. Hundreds of thousands have been injured including thousands who’ve been intentionally blinded by bullets in the eyes. This is the worst it has ever been under the Islamic Republic.

Many thousands more have been detained whilst hundreds of families (if not more) have no information about the whereabouts or condition of their detained children. Some individuals fled to mountainous areas to avoid arrest.

Martial Law as Crackdown Intensifies

The brutality of the crackdown landed the country in effectively a state of martial law:

• Militarized forces everywhere with ‘shoot to kill’ orders in central spaces
• Public spaces closed
• Curfews in place
• Numerous checkpoints established and mobile phones routinely inspected
• Citizens arrested inside their homes
• Jobs threatened and property confiscated
• Government imposed severe internet blackouts severely limiting communication and isolating citizens – from each other as well as from the West, while authorities claimed they were simply “maintaining order”

A Nation Under Terror

The general atmosphere was marked by intense fear and deep mistrust. Many citizens avoided close contact with one another for fear of locking eyes with government forces. There became an understood silence and caution. Armed IRGC infiltrate the crowds in civilian clothing. This further increased the mistrust amongst the people.

We don’t even know who our friend or enemy is any more. You don’t know if the person you are speaking to is for you or against you. Because if something comes out of your mouth that is anti-government and he’s a foe, then you’re done for.

A sharp rise in food prices, limited access to supplies, a reduction or complete loss of household income, and unofficial reports of secret executions of detainees further intensified public anxiety.

Streets became emptied by force. There circulated reports of armed patrols with shoot-to-kill authority.

Businesses largely remained closed and cash became scarce with empty ATMs. Internet and phone access was restricted and unstable; messages sometimes took hours to deliver, and even basic communication carried risk, compounding the psychological toll.

Torture, Violence, Sexual Abuse and Executions

After weeks of arrests, countless firsthand accounts of unimaginable torture emerged from released prisoners. In most cases, there were long stretches where families had no knowledge of the whereabouts of their loved ones. One mother told us that she spent weeks crying and begging at courthouses and police stations across the city until she was finally informed that her son was in custody but he was in solitary confinement and not permitted to speak to anyone. When she was finally granted a phone call, it lasted 30 seconds before it was cut off. All she heard was “mom, I’ve been arrested, don’t worry”. After 47 days in custody this young man was finally released. He hardly speaks of what he endured. His physical scars and weak body are painful reminders. He spends his days crying, carrying guilt for the fact he is now free but his friends are still unaccounted for.

Trusted sources report women in custody have been raped before execution to prevent them “accessing heaven,” and we have even come across (as yet unverified) reports that some uteri have been removed from women to hide evidence. Survivors of incarceration describe forced confessions, torture, and lasting trauma. “Those who come out are not the same,” one source said.

Medical staff who treated injured protesters have been executed. Reports also describe coerced participation in regime activities and ongoing psychological abuse. Several have reported that a condition of their release was to claim that they support regime actions.

There have also been reports that with prisons overcrowded, authorities started releasing detainees – but not before poisoning them leading to multiple cases of suspicious deaths labelled as “suicides”. Reports also circulated rabout so-called “silent deaths,” (poison in prison food leading to internal bleeding) or injections with high levels of potassium leading to heart attacks. These claims, however, remain unsubstantiated.

“Going Outside Is an Act of Suicide” But Silence is Not Peace and Defiance Persists

As authorities succeeded in driving people indoors, streets across Iran grew quieter. Grief and exhaustion weighed heavily on communities. “People feel there is nothing left in them,” one contact shared. Fear shaped daily life — neighbors afraid to ask if someone has lost a loved one, conversations cautious. One message from inside Iran summarized the changing reality facing many citizens:

There is honestly nothing left for us to do now. Going into the street is an act of suicide. It has nothing to do with courage any more. If you go out, they will just kill you there and then. They don’t even ask you why you are in the street. They just kill you.

But a remnant of citizens remained resolute. Graffiti reading “we are coming back to the streets” began appearing in multiple cities. Soon after, students at multiple universities resumed protesting. Images emerged of drones circling these protestors, presumably to identify the students. Arrests continued for days and weeks after individuals were identified with facial recognition. But young people were determined to finish what has been started.

The goverment became more and more desperate in its attempts to maintain ‘order’. Individuals were detained abruptly, sometimes for minor or loosely defined offenses such as “insulting” senior leadership. Many people who had previously been detained and then released were called in again for questioning by authorities — contributing to greater fear among families, some fleeing toward northern regions and enduring very harsh conditions. Some claimed being ‘reported’ by their own acquaintances.

Night-time home raids continued, including strip-searches for signs of protest participation. Business owners reported pressure to provide camera footage from past protest dates. Families describe detainees taken without formal charges or disclosure of their location, raising concerns about enforced disappearances. Children and women have not been exempt. Even mourning gatherings carry risk, with attendees receiving warning messages labeling memorials “subversive.”

More detailed analysis on the first four weeks of the uprising

Children Not Exempt

Multiple different sources have told us how their children were pulled aside at school by security forces and questioned. Children as young as five have been asked to divulge what their parents have been saying at home, whether they have been out protesting, and if there are injured individuals in their family.

Parents are afraid to send children to school. In some cases, students are staying home as a form of protest. Some schools are threatening failing grades or expulsion to pressure students to attend, while others are allowing remote learning for safety.

What Can you Do to Help the People of Iran?

(1) Pray. Use our prayer guide to fuel your prayers. Pray in authority, taking down the strongholds of the enemy.

(2) Raise awareness. Share this web page with friends and colleagues. Follow us on social media and share the posts. Don’t let the cry for help from the people of Iran go unheard.

(3) Give. We are raising funds to prepare emergency relief packets for the people. This will primarily cover basic food and medical needs for families struggling to survive. We are also raising funds to enable us to produce timely programs to strengthen the church at this very difficult time.

Thank you for remembering the people of Iran in their hour of need.

Photo credit for header photo: www.iranintl.com