Iran says 3,000 people arrested as antigovernment protests subside

Internet entree remains chopped disconnected arsenic the streets of Tehran, different Iranian cities are mostly calm aft widescale unrest.

The Iranian authorities accidental astatine slightest 3,000 radical person been arrested successful weeks of antigovernment demonstrations, authorities quality agencies reported, arsenic the wide protests person mostly been quelled.

The streets of the Iranian superior Tehran and different parts of the state were comparatively calm connected Friday amid a dense beingness of information forces.

Recommended Stories

• list 1 of 3Iran successful limbo: What’s adjacent for state nether net blackout?
• list 2 of 3Iran holds much funerals aft deadly unrest
• list 3 of 3Analysis: Why a ‘quick and clean’ US onslaught connected Iran won’t beryllium easy

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi said the nationalist temper was mixed, with galore radical anxious implicit the anticipation that the concern could escalate again and frustrated by a continuing net shutdown.

“Internet entree is unavailable for astir everyone successful Iran,” Asadi said.

Online show NetBlocks said connected Friday that a nationwide net blackout had entered its eighth time aft Iranian authorities chopped disconnected entree astatine the tallness of the protests past week.

Thousands of Iranians had taken to the streets since precocious December successful choler implicit soaring inflation and the steep devaluation of the section currency, prompting a harsh crackdown from the Iranian authorities.

People store successful a store successful Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters]

Iranian leaders person described the protesters arsenic “rioters” and accused overseas countries, notably the United States and Israel, of fuelling the unrest.

Human rights groups accidental much than 1,000 protesters person been killed since the demonstrations began, portion the Iranian authorities said astatine slightest 100 information officers besides were killed successful protest-related attacks.

Al Jazeera has not been capable to independently verify those figures.

The imaginable of a wider escalation loomed this week arsenic US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened to bid subject enactment against Iran should much protesters beryllium killed.

But Trump has since softened his rhetoric aft telling reporters that Tehran had cancelled plans to execute hundreds of protesters.

“I greatly respect the information that each scheduled hangings, which were to instrumentality spot yesterday (Over 800 of them), person been cancelled by the enactment of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote connected societal media connected Friday afternoon.

Steve Witkoff, Trump’s peculiar envoy to the Middle East, besides said connected Thursday evening that helium hoped “a diplomatic resolution” could beryllium reached to quell tensions betwixt Tehran and Washington.

A autobus burned during protests successful Tehran, Iran, January 16, 2026 [Majid Asgaripour/West Asia News Agency via Reuters]

Roxane Farmanfarmaian, a lecturer astatine the University of Cambridge specialising successful planetary relations and the Middle East, said the Trump medication has sent “a large woody of mixed signals” successful caller days.

“It’s hard to cognize wherever the reddish lines are, and for [Iran] to past consciousness immoderate assurance successful immoderate talks that mightiness begin,” Farmanfarmaian told Al Jazeera.

For now, she said, the Iranian authorities are moving to “quiet things down” domestically – including by not executing immoderate demonstrators – “and to proceed to effort to amended the economical situation, which is what’s genuinely the menace to this regime”.

The protests were the largest since a 2022-2023 protestation question spurred by the decease successful constabulary custody of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict formal codification for women.

While the net blackout has made it hard to get accusation from Iran, Amnesty International warned this week that “mass unlawful killings” look to person been “committed connected an unprecedented scale”.

The rights radical urged the planetary assemblage to request investigations into what happened and clasp immoderate perpetrators to account.

Meanwhile, Al Jazeera’s Asadi said connected Friday that the Iranian authorities are “trying to support the concern nether control, some domestically and internationally”, amid the anticipation of immoderate re-escalation with the US.

“They’re trying to support the doors of diplomacy … unfastened portion besides sending messages of warning, pertaining to their preparedness for immoderate scenario,” helium said.