Witnesses describe escalating unrest over past week in Iran as opposition figures speak out
Protests have escalated over the past week in Iran, leaving more than a thousand people dead, according to rights groups. Meanwhile, the US says it’s holding off on military strikes for now. The World has the latest updates, and Host Carolyn Beeler speaks with Nahid Siamdoust about what Iranian opposition groups are pushing for.
US President Donald Trump told reporters Wednesday night that informed sources told him the killings in Iran have stopped, and that the government will hold off executing protesters. That’s prompted the US to put military strikes on hold for now.
The World was finally able to reach some people inside the country, as well as a few who have managed to leave. They did not wish to be named for security reasons.
People cross an intersection in downtown Tehran, Iran, Jan. 15, 2026.Vahid Salemi/AP
One Tehran resident said that there was a sense of calm before the storm last Thursday as he visited his friend. “I couldn’t imagine that a few minutes later, the population would explode,” he said, adding that crowds had started to gather by 8 p.m. And half an hour later, it was as if the floodgates had opened.
“It was unbelievable really. Old, young, women, men, children, [they] were out and shouting,” chanting slogans like “the Supreme Leader must go” and “this is the end of the regime.”
Tehran is no stranger to protests, but this was unlike anything people had ever seen before.
The atmosphere started as relaxed, but by Friday, things started to escalate as security forces showed up in force, firing teargas. Instead of dispersing, the protesters remained in the streets.
Human rights groups say the death toll from the uprisings has reached more than a thousand.
Recently, The World’s Host Carolyn Beeler spoke with Nahid Siamdoust to better understand who the Iranian opposition groups are and what they’re pushing for right now. She teaches media and Middle Eastern studies at the University of Texas at Austin. This year, she is a Humboldt research fellow in Berlin, from where she joined the discussion.
People carry Iranian flags and pro-government placards during a funeral ceremony for a group of security forces, who were killed during anti-government protests, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 14, 2026.Vahid Salemi/AP
Carolyn Beeler: Can you describe the most visible opposition leaders inside Iran and an exile?
Nahid Siamdoust: The main camps of opposition are really sort of coming into shape outside of Iran rather than inside of Iran, and there’s a reason for that. For decades, the Islamic Republic has decimated the internal Iranian opposition. They’ve been imprisoned, tortured, killed. Many of them have left the country. As we speak, Narges Mohammadi, the Nobel laureate, is sitting in solitary confinement.
So, there’s this very strong opposition, not organized, because again, they’ve been hindered in doing so. So, that’s inside of Iran. Those are the brightest minds who can lead us toward a bright future. Outside of Iran, of course, people have started to come around Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah of Iran, increasingly because they see him as somebody who can bring about a transition beyond the Islamic Republic into a new system. And he has presented himself as somebody, who is not there to be the next king of Iran but who wants to facilitate that transition.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s toppled Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, speaks during a news conference in Paris, June 23, 2025.Thomas Padilla/AP/File photo
Within Iran, though, obviously these protests are happening within Iran, and so there are protesters taking on the risk of going out into the street, so while they may not be opposition parties or anything like that, are there ideologies that unite them, what they are looking for, these protesters?
Yeah, I think the main ideology that we see through the protest chants and through speaking to people in Iran is one of freedom and justice for Iranians and overcoming the Islamic Republic. Simply, Iranians are fed up with this regime that is corrupt, incompetent, hypocritical, unable to really manage this country and create a future that is livable, or even a present that is liveable, for Iranians. These protests were caused by basically an economic disaster of the rial crashing and extreme inflation. So, the unifying chants and the unifying political demand of the people in Iran is to bring down the Islamic Republic.
And there is not a specific leader or party that people within Iran are calling for. They are just saying, “we want the regime to end.”
That’s right. And I think that’s precisely why we see the figure of Reza Pahlavi become more and more prominent, because there are just so few options in terms of figureheads. But the Woman, Life, Freedom uprising of 2022-2023 was called a leaderless movement. And so, although it is a bit of a failure not to have a figurehead that can lead this, they have been silenced. What we do see is dozens and dozens all across Iran and all of the provinces really leading these movements, leading these protests.
People take part in a rally in Berlin, Germany, in support of anti-government protests in Iran, June 14, 2026.Ebrahim Noroozi/AP
Right, you have to be nimble about how you organize when leaders get taken out. So, I did want to talk a bit more about Reza Pahlavi, the son of the deposed shah of Iran. Can you tell me more about him, his role in these protests right now, and what his supporters want?
His support supporters have been the most vocal and the best organized in the US. I think that’s how we need to phrase this. And speaking about him becomes immediately contentious because there are people who will shoot you down as being a supporter of the Islamic Republic, supporter of murderers if you say, you know, perhaps the future of Iran shouldn’t be another king because people deposed his father 40-some years ago. But he’s winning more and more supporters, not necessarily as the next leader of Iran, but again, as somebody who can help them achieve their main goal, which is overcoming and overthrowing the Islamic Republic.
So, Reza Pahlavi is calling people to protest. Does he want a return to the monarchy or would he be an advocate for a democratic future for Iran?
He actually has presented himself — he wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post — and he has actually presented himself as somebody who will facilitate a transition to the next governmental system in Iran. And he has said that he wants that to happen through elections. And so, he’s not putting himself forth necessarily as the next king of Iran. Of course, these things unfold in all kinds of ways that are unpredictable. But that is not what he has himself stated, that he want to be the next king of Iran. But he has gone on, you know, his messages to the Iranian people to go out and protest have been broadcast on a daily basis for the last three or four days. And he’s presenting himself as somebody who can facilitate that transition.
Women cross a street under a huge banner showing hands firmly holding Iranian flags as a sign of patriotism, as one of them flashes the victory sign, in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 14, 2026.Vahid Salemi/AP
Is there a shared vision for the future of Iran among the many different streams of opposition that exist in the country and outside of the country?
I would say outside of the country, things get a little complicated precisely because the supporters of a monarchy are quite loud. But inside of the county, when you listen to the chants, when you listen to the many years of protests and activism of the last two decades, yes, it’s really transitioning into a secular democracy. People want to have elections and choose their next leader. But, although there are some supporters for monarchy, that is not the predominant chant or request or demand or vision that we see for the future of Iran.
Is there anything specifically you will be watching for in the coming weeks?
What I’m watching for is whether within the forces of the Islamic Republic — whether it’s the police, the army, the Revolutionary Guards — there’s some fractures, some people basically disengaging from the state itself and perhaps coming to the support or backing of the people on the streets. And if that happens, perhaps a transition to elections and democracy from within are possible if some of those people, some leaders from within, are able to do a turnaround and actually facilitate that transition. But again, this is a highly volatile and moving situation. It’s very hard to foresee where this might lead.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
Click on this player to listen to more of about what’s unfolding in Iran:
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