Illustration by Leo Wu

Iranians entered 2026 amidst a nationwide uprising with millions protesting across the country in what we now call the Sun and Lion Revolution. They were chanting for the end of the Islamic Republic totalitarian dictatorship. 

Iranians seek change because of severe political repression, lack of basic freedoms, economic hardship, corruption, international isolation, human rights abuses, the desire for an accountable government and national renewal. The Islamic Republic is a dictatorship that cannot give Iranians these things. They force women to wear hijabs – arresting, beating and executing those who defy these laws. They force radical Islam on the whole country, despite Iran being a country with many different religions and beliefs. 

A Brief Timeline

On December 28th, Iran’s currency went into free fall, losing value by the hour. Year after year, the government chop more and more money for themselves, failing to invest in the country. Iran is the world’s 5th richest country in terms of natural resources, yet that money doesn’t reach the people. Instead, the nation’s wealth is stolen by elites or is funnelled into foreign terrorist militias in the region. For the ordinary Iranian, an hour’s work amounts to a piece of bread and two single eggs. The people’s wealth didn’t use to build their nation. 

December 28th was a tipping point. The bazar markets begin major strikes, and people take to the streets in protest. Day by day, the protests increase, shopkeepers are shutting down across the nation, and the crowds are getting bigger and bigger in all of Iran’s major cities. It is a total rejection of the Islamic Republic dictatorship. People were chanting for the return of opposition leader, exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi, to act as their transitional leader so the future of Iran can be decided by the people of Iran in a democratic system.

On January 6th, Pahlavi announced his first-ever call to protest. He invited the people of Iran to take to the streets at 8 pm on the 8th and 9th of January. Interestingly, he didn’t ask them to chant anything specific or his name. He simply invited them to make their demands heard, a test to see the extent of his influence within Iran itself. January 8th came, and at 8 pm on the dot, families from seemingly every home in the country made their way out that night with the mission of reclaiming their homeland.

Scenes came out on January 8th showing every single town and city in all 31 provinces of Iran, flooded with seas of people united under one flag (the Sun and Lion Flag of Iran), chanting for one leader (Pahlavi) and his vision. There were millions in the streets across the nation. However, by 9:30 pm, the Islamic Republic switched off the internet and telecommunications nationwide to begin a massacre that killed thousands of innocent civilians. This is what the regime does every time street protests begin to threaten its power. 

Two officials from the Ministry of Health in Iran reported over 30,000 killed in those two nights. The Centre for Human Rights in Iran reported over 46,000 were slaughtered. Over 330,000 were left injured, and over 40,000 arrested, awaiting execution.

Stories from the UAL Community

A number of our students who were present in Iran at the time (during their Christmas break) took to the streets and witnessed the brutality of the Islamic Republic’s terrorist forces. They watched people be shot in front of them. “From 9:30 pm, all we heard was gunfire non-stop for over an hour”. January 9th was an even worse bloodbath. One UAL student we spoke to told us she lost 4 of her friends in the protest massacre. Another said one of her classmates from school was killed in the massacre, and another told us she lost a newly engaged family member. A KCL student told us her best friend was shot and couldn’t go to the hospital, but luckily had a doctor tend to their wounds at home in hiding. These stories go on. As Iranians, we all know someone who was killed, wounded, or narrowly survived.

The terrorist forces entered hospitals, arrested medical staff and executed wounded protesters. This is why some protesters chose not to go to the hospital those nights. Hospitals were overwhelmed with the number of injured protesters and couldn’t even call for help because of the phone lines/internet shutdown.

In 2026, Iran has been under the longest nationwide internet shutdown in world history. The Islamic Republic have purposely shut down the internet in order to commit crimes against their own people, and so they can dominate the media with their propaganda.

More attention is needed on this matter by the international community. Silence on state-imposed internet shutdowns allows them to continue. We must be the voice of the voiceless Iranian people.