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Introduction: Why Definitions Matter When Mass Killing Occurs   When a state kills its own population at scale, language is no longer neutral. The words chosen to describe such violence do not merely reflect reality; they actively shape whether that reality is confronted, diluted, or normalised. In the aftermath of mass killings, especially those carried […]

A Human Rights Report on the January 2026 Mass Killings in Iran This report is based on open-source evidence, eyewitness testimony, medical documentation, and publicly available material. Due to the risk of retaliation, some sources remain anonymous.   SECTION I — EXECUTIVE CONTEXT: A STATE BUILT ON VIOLENCE The Architecture of Killing in the Islamic

Introduction — Laundering Violence: How the Islamic Republic Outsources Its Survival to Western Lobby Networks   The Islamic Republic does not survive on repression alone. Batons, bullets, prisons, and executions may silence dissent inside Iran, but they cannot neutralise accountability beyond its borders. For that, the regime relies on a quieter, more insidious infrastructure: Western-based

Introduction — Repression Does Not Survive Alone   The Islamic Republic’s survival in the face of nationwide protest is often explained as a function of internal repression: batons, bullets, prisons, and fear. This explanation is incomplete. Authoritarian violence does not operate in a vacuum. It requires tolerance, accommodation, and silence beyond national borders. What is

Introduction — Beyond Protest: Iran’s Uprising and the Regime’s Endgame   The current wave of unrest in Iran is not merely another episode in a long history of protests; it marks a critical turning point in the Iran nationwide protests against the Islamic Republic. What is unfolding on the streets today cannot be reduced to

Introduction   Iran has reached a tipping point. Decades of structural corruption within the regime, compounded by economic mismanagement and political repression, have left the population with mounting grievances. The resulting protests are not spontaneous outbursts; they are the inevitable consequence of a system that prioritises the protection of elites over the welfare of ordinary

Introduction — Abuse Protected by Power   This investigation examines sexual abuse allegations linked to Hamidreza Saqafi and the political system that ensured his protection inside the Islamic Republic. Sexual abuse in authoritarian systems is rarely about individual pathology. It is about power—how it is accumulated, shielded, and weaponised. In the Islamic Republic of Iran,

Introduction — When “Humanitarian” Becomes a Cover for Grand Corruption   In Iran’s oil and gas sector, corruption rarely announces itself openly. It hides behind contracts, technical language, emergency justifications, and—most effectively—claims of necessity. The case revealed in recent disclosures surrounding the Bilal Gas Field drilling project is a textbook example of how large-scale financial

Introduction — Who Is Hamidreza Saqafi, and Why His Name Matters   In the opaque ecosystem of Iran’s energy sector, certain names surface repeatedly—not because of innovation or public service, but because they sit at the intersection of power, money, and impunity. Hamidreza Saqafi is one of those names. To outside observers, he may appear

Introduction — The Humanitarian Loophole: An Unintended Escape Hatch   Iran’s humanitarian exemption sanctions abuse has become one of the most under-scrutinised vulnerabilities in the global sanctions architecture. For decades, international sanctions regimes have carved out humanitarian exemptions—allowing the export of food, medicine, and medical equipment—to protect civilian populations from collective punishment. In theory, these