Peregraf - A new wave of widespread anti-government protests, which began on December 28, 2025, has resulted in the deaths of at least 11 Kurdish citizens, dozens injured, and hundreds arrested across western Iran, according to the Kurdistan Human Rights Network (KHRN). Fueled by mounting political and economic grievances, the protests have spread across several provinces with significant Kurdish populations, leading to a harsh crackdown by Iranian military and security forces.
KHRN reported that fatalities occurred in the cities of Kuhdasht and Nurabad-e Delfan in Lorestan Province; Malekshahi in Ilam Province; and Kermanshah and Harsin in Kermanshah Province. Eyewitness accounts, along with video and photographic evidence reviewed by the organization, indicate that the protesters were killed by live ammunition fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Dozens of others sustained injuries from live rounds, pellet guns, or baton beatings during street demonstrations.
According to KHRN interviews, security forces pressured the families of those killed during the handover of bodies, forcing them to falsely claim that their relatives were killed by protesters or were members of the Basij militia. In several cases, families publicly rejected these claims, despite threats and intimidation.
Following the outbreak of protests, Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and the IRGC Intelligence Organization summoned civil rights activists, former political prisoners, and dadkhah families (a Persian term used for victims’ relatives and survivors seeking truth and justice), warning them against participating in demonstrations or sharing information on social media.
The crackdown intensified on January 3, 2026, in Malekshahi, Ilam Province, where IRGC forces responded to protests with live fire. As demonstrations spread to other cities, injured protesters taken to Khomeini Hospital in Ilam faced further repression. Special Forces units reportedly raided the hospital on two consecutive nights, attempting to arrest wounded protesters and disrupting medical treatment for both patients and medical staff. Tear gas was fired at gatherings of families in the hospital courtyard, and several citizens were beaten and detained.
Since the start of the unrest, protests have been documented in numerous cities, including Kuhdasht and Nurabad-e Delfan in Lorestan Province; Darreh Shahr, Dehloran, Abdanan, Sarableh, Karzan, and Malekshahi in Ilam Province; Harsin, Kermanshah, Sonqor, Eslamabad-e Gharb, and Gilan-e Gharb in Kermanshah Province; and Bojnurd in North Khorasan Province.
Among those killed were young workers, teenagers, and child laborers. Victims include 22-year-old Amir-Hesam Khodayari-Fard in Kuhdasht; 17- and 20-year-old brothers Rasoul and Reza Kadivarian in Kermanshah; and 16-year-old Reza Ghanbari, who was shot in the back during protests. In Malekshahi alone, at least five protesters died after IRGC forces opened fire near a Basij base.
The deadly violence has been accompanied by widespread arrests. KHRN has confirmed the detention of more than 200 people across Tehran, Ilam, Kermanshah, Lorestan, Kurdistan, and North Khorasan provinces, though the true number is believed to be significantly higher. A notable proportion of detainees are children and adolescents, with at least 20 minors identified so far. Teachers’ unions have separately reported the arrest of at least 100 school-age children in Harsin alone.