• Iranian President claims Trump, Netanyahu and European leaders “provoked” protesters and “supplied resources” to incite division
• Rights group HRANA reports at least 6,563 killed in crackdown while Iran claims 3,100 dead, mostly security forces
• Trump has deployed USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group to region while reviewing military strike options

TEHRAN, Iran (TDR) — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Saturday accused the United States, Israel and Europe of exploiting Iran’s economic crisis to incite the nationwide protests that left thousands dead following a bloody government crackdown.

“They provoke, create division, and supplied resources, drawing some innocent people into this movement,” Pezeshkian said in a live state TV broadcast, according to Reuters and other media reports.

President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and European leaders “rode on our problems, provoked, and were seeking — and still seek — to fragment society,” Pezeshkian said.

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The two-week nationwide protests, which began in late December over soaring inflation and currency collapse, have abated after what rights groups describe as a massacre by Iranian security forces.

Stark Death Toll Dispute

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reports at least 6,563 people killed, including 6,170 protesters and 214 security forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told CNN Turk that 3,100 people died, including 2,000 security forces — contradicting HRANA’s figures showing the vast majority of dead were civilians.

Some estimates range as high as 36,500 deaths, though these remain unverified due to Iran’s internet blackout and communications disruption.

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NPR reported Tuesday that at least 6,126 people were killed while many others are feared dead. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documented at least 28 protesters and bystanders killed, including children, between December 31 and January 3 alone.

Pezeshkian Claims Foreign Plot

In his Saturday broadcast, Pezeshkian framed the protests as a coordinated foreign operation rather than organic economic grievances.

“They brought them into the streets and wanted, as they said, to tear this country apart, to sow conflict and hatred among the people and create division,” Pezeshkian said.

“Everyone knows that the issue was not just a social protest,” he added.

According to Al Jazeera, Pezeshkian claimed foreign powers equipped protesters and “brought a number of innocent people along with this movement and poured them into the streets.”

Iranian authorities have claimed that protesters used guns, killed military personnel, set fire to ambulances and markets — allegations Pezeshkian used to distinguish “rioters” from legitimate demonstrators.

“In any normal protest, they don’t pick up guns, they don’t kill military personnel, they don’t set fire to ambulances and markets,” Pezeshkian said, according to Al Jazeera’s earlier reporting.

The Iranian president urged the public not to allow “rioters” to disrupt the country while saying his government would solve economic problems “by any means necessary.”

Trump’s Military Response Looms

Trump has repeatedly voiced support for the demonstrators and warned of potential military action if Iran continued killing protesters.

“Help is on its way,” Trump told protesters earlier this month, prompting U.S. officials to say Friday that Trump was reviewing his options but had not decided whether to strike Iran.

The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier and strike group reached the Middle East on Monday, carrying dozens of fighter jets and nearly 5,000 sailors. Three accompanying destroyers carry Tomahawk cruise missiles capable of striking deep inside Iran.

“We have a massive fleet heading in that direction, and maybe we won’t have to use it,” Trump said Thursday aboard Air Force One, according to The Washington Post.

Israel’s Ynet news website reported Friday that a U.S. Navy destroyer had docked at the Israeli port of Eilat.

The military buildup mirrors preparations before the U.S. joined Israel’s 12-day war with Iran in June 2025, when Washington struck three Iranian nuclear sites.

Protests Triggered by Economic Collapse

The demonstrations began December 28 when merchants at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar closed shops over the Iranian rial’s sharp depreciation against the dollar, which reached approximately 145,000 tomans.

According to Wikipedia’s documentation of the protests, Iran’s economy had experienced sharp inflation, a devalued currency, and an energy deficit culminating in repeated electricity and gas disruptions.

The protests quickly spread from economic grievances to broader opposition against the government — the largest demonstrations since the 2022-2023 movement sparked by Mahsa Amini’s custodial death.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responded on January 3 by saying “We will not yield to the enemy” and stating that “rioters must be put in their place.”

On January 5, the Head of the Judiciary ordered prosecutors to show “no leniency” to protesters and to expedite their trials.

Regional Diplomatic Efforts

Regional allies including Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia have been engaging in diplomatic efforts to prevent military confrontation between Washington and Tehran.

The U.S. is demanding Iran curb its missile program if the two nations are to resume talks, but Iran has rejected that demand.

“Missiles would never be the subject of any negotiations,” Foreign Minister Araqchi said in Turkey on Tuesday, according to CNBC.

However, Araqchi told reporters Friday that Iran is ready for “fair and equitable” talks with the U.S., adding: “We are ready to negotiate over our nuclear program, but we will not negotiate over our ballistic missile program.”

Internet Blackout and Crackdown Methods

Iran imposed a near-total internet blackout beginning January 8, making it extremely difficult to verify death tolls or document the crackdown.

Cloudflare reported a 35% decrease in internet traffic in Iran, with users reporting frequent outages and slow connections.

According to Iran International and Wikipedia, Iran imported 800 members of foreign militias to help quell protests, including Iraqi Popular Mobilisation Forces, Lebanese Hezbollah, Pakistani Liwa Zainabiyoun, and Afghan Liwa Fatemiyoun.

Reports indicate that security forces went into hospitals and forcibly took corpses of protesters, while some wounded avoided hospitals out of fear of arrest.

In Rasht, security forces allegedly surrounded and trapped protesters inside the Rasht Bazaar, set it on fire, and killed people attempting to surrender or escape. At least 392 people were killed in Rasht, the vast majority since the internet blackout began.

Kurdish Regions Saw Deadliest Repression

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch found that provinces of Lorestan and Ilam, home to Kurdish and Luri ethnic minorities, saw the deadliest repression, with at least eight killed in Lorestan and five in Ilam between December 31 and January 3.

The cities of Abdanan and Malekshahi, both in Kurdish regions, were abandoned by security forces, leaving control to protesters.

Several Kurdish political groups, including the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, and the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK), expressed support for the protests and called on Kurds in Iran to carry out strikes and demonstrations.

International Reactions

Trump has made clear he wants regime change, telling Iranian protesters “KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS” and canceling meetings with Iranian officials “until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS,” according to ABC News.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said January 4 that Israelis “identify with the struggle of the Iranian people” and suggested it was “quite possible” the protests marked Iranians “taking their fate into their own hands.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a dual Persian and English statement supporting the protests and calling them an “uprising” that would hamper Russia.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran stated that evidence justified investigating whether the killings constituted crimes against humanity.

Iran’s Military Posture

Iran has placed its forces on “high alert” as it watches the U.S. military buildup, a senior Iranian official told reporters Friday.

“This military buildup — we hope that it is not something for real confrontation — but we are ready for a worst-case scenario,” the official said, according to The Washington Post.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) General Mohammad Pakpour said Saturday: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard and dear Iran stand more ready than ever, finger on the trigger,” The Hill reported.

Araqchi warned in The Wall Street Journal that Iran would be “firing back with everything we have” if attacked, adding that “an all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House.”

Can Iran’s government survive if its claims of foreign interference are true, or does blaming external enemies simply mask domestic rage over economic mismanagement and political repression?

Sources

This report was compiled using information from CNBC’s reporting on Pezeshkian’s accusations, Reuters/U.S. News coverage, Al Jazeera’s reporting on foreign interference claims, Al-Monitor coverage, NPR’s death toll reporting, Washington Post on USS Abraham Lincoln deployment, Spokesman-Review carrier coverage, The Hill’s military analysis and Trump’s armada coverage, Al Jazeera on Pezeshkian’s earlier statements and US military buildup, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch documentation, ABC News on Trump’s statements, Wikipedia’s 2025-2026 Iranian protests documentation, Wikipedia’s 2026 Iran massacres documentation, and Wikipedia’s reactions to protests.

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