FEARLESS Iranians leading protests have told The Sun they would rather die than let the Ayatollah’s regime survive.
On the streets of , the drums of rebellion are beating hard – fuelled by a population pushed to the brink.
Cars burn in a street during a protest in Tehran, IranCredit: Reuters
The courtyard of Tehran’s Forensic Diagnostic Centre of Tehran, with dozens of bodies in body bags laid out for family membersCredit: AFP
Women in Iran have been defiantly lighting cigarettes with burning images of the AyatollahCredit: X/@MilitanTosh
Even in traditionally loyal areas such as Bazaar, everyday Iranians have been facing off with unforgiving security agents.
At least as Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei faces being toppled.
But with and morgues full, some human rights groups put the grisly toll much higher at over 3,000.
Protests started more than two weeks ago over the collapse of the Rial currency, before morphing into demonstrations against clerical rulers who have governed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iran now stands at a historic crossroads – with the regime’s pillars of repression, corruption and aggression crumbling.
Panicked Khamenei has backed himself into an existential deadlock – with no capacity for reform, whether political or economic.
Facing the biggest challenge to his rule in years, the desperate Ayatollah is frantically trying to crush dissent and has ordered a total blackout of the internet in a bid to cut Iran off from the rest of the world.
But The Sun was given unprecedented access to speak with brave members of People’s Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI/MEK) resistance units risking their lives on the frontline of the protests.
Amir, a member of a resistance unit in Shiraz, told how Iranians feel they have “nothing left to lose”.
The 23-year-old said: “The young generation of Iran joins protests despite the risk of arrest, imprisonment, or even death, because for them, the cost of silence has exceeded the cost of protest.
“When a young person sees their future, job, security, and human dignity destroyed, fear gives way to anger, and a courage born of a complete dead end.
“This generation seeks a normal life: a predictable future, freedom of choice, justice, an end to discrimination, and respect for human beings, the very basic rights considered self-evident in many countries.
“They reject the regime because they have experienced repression, lies, discrimination, and political deadlock to their very core, and they have lost all hope in promises of reform.
“For this generation, rejecting the state is not a theoretical or emotional decision; it is the result of years of living under pressure and injustice.
“The youth of Iran do not ask for paradise; they want a country where they can live, breathe, and build a future. A life without a future is, in itself, a form of death.”
The cost of silence has exceeded the cost of protest
Mass protests broke out at the end of December – triggered by escalating execution numbers coupled with social and economic collapse.
More than 2,000 executions were carried out last year – over twice the number in 2024.
But repression has failed to silence defiance – and while the regime pours billions into proxy wars, terrorism, and nuclear ambitions, Iran’s people endure catastrophic hardship:
Iranian currency sharply dropped last year, and inflation climbed above 50 per cent.
The public has also faced a water crisis as reservoirs dry up, and more than 80 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line.
Sepideh, 21, from Gilan, told The Sun: “The middle class has been pushed to the poverty line, and the poor have reached the brink of death.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime stands on the brink of collapseCredit: AFP
The streets of Tehran have been left up in flames since nationwide protests eruptedCredit: Shutterstock Editorial
Protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets of TehranCredit: AP
“The regime counters the people with repression and executions.
“However, the youth have not been intimidated and have joined the Resistance in greater numbers.
“Poverty, unemployment, repression, executions, detentions, imprisonment, and shortages of water, electricity, and fuel are the only ‘achievements’ of this governance.”
Babak, 40, from Gorgan, added: “For years, these [regime officials] have been stealing from the workers’ table to feed themselves.
“Currently, a worker struggles with daily wages, that makes only a fraction of their monthly expenses.
“For years, regime officials have only been mocking the workers.
“Workers do not even have bread for their evening meal; they have snatched even the bread from the workers.”
Now in their third week of protesting, Iranians have vowed to continue fighting against the regime – hoping it can be overthrown.
Sarah, 36, from Tehran, said: “The motivation behind this steadfastness is undoubtedly the desire to be liberated from the catastrophic conditions prevailing in our country.
Debris from a damaged building is seen on January 10 in Tehran, IranCredit: Getty
Traffic piles up as protesters block a road in TehranCredit: Getty
“Naturally, these conditions are truly inhumane; they are against humanity and human nature, and the people are under immense pressure because of them.
“Resistance Units are expanding, and young people are joining them because they realise that the only way—and the only possibility—to overthrow this regime is for the people themselves to roll up their sleeves and take united action in this regard.
“Although the regime intensifies its repression every day and every hour, and despite the severe security pressure it imposes on society, tightening the noose on the people daily, these protests are not diminishing.
“On the contrary, they are increasing day by day. This is certainly because the people desire a bright future, and since they know that this future can only be built by their own hands, they must participate.”
Protests have taken place at 585 locations in 186 cities in all of Iran’s 31 provinces.
The PMOI claims the number killed has exceeded 3,000 – based on investigations from local sources, hospitals, the coroner’s office, and the families of those who have disappeared in 195 cities.
It comes as , with the US president due to be briefed on specific options – including airstrikes.
Britain must back freedom, democracy and liberty and stand united with courageous rebels in Iran
The Sun on Sunday
YOU would think the attempts by thousands of freedom protesters to overthrow a brutal, murderous regime would warrant some serious support from any British government.
After all we are talking about a tyranny which has promoted terror across the globe and with a far-reaching nuclear programme.
But, apart from Sir Keir Starmer’s mealy-mouthed joint European statement calling for “restraint”, the mass uprising against Iran’s blood-soaked supreme leader has been received by near- silence from the Labour hierarchy.
Foreign Secretary seems to have lost her voice and the mass ranks of government MPs have hardly breathed a dicky bird.
Not a single Labour MP on the Foreign Affairs Select Committee has even so much as tweeted.
Compare that to the party’s fire and fury which blazed daily against Israel for its response to the worst antisemitic attack since the Holocaust.
Perhaps Labour fears upsetting its Muslim base?
The PM says Britain’s shared values include “common respect for freedom, democracy, liberty.’’
Yet for almost 50 years the have overseen a brutal Islamic Republic which uses lethal force against women who don’t wear head coverings.
They have obliterated the right to freedom of expression and anyone in a same-sex relationship could face the death penalty.
’s bold strike against the country’s nuclear programme last year dealt it a devastating political blow.
Now the crumbling economy could be the final nail in the coffin of 86-year-old Khamenei and his barbarous henchmen.
But as they see their powerbase crumbling, the regime’s leaders have arrested almost 2,500 people, including 166 children, and used military grade weapons against unarmed protesters.
It is time for the PM to show his principles count. He and his foreign secretary should throw their wholehearted support behind this uprising.
If Britain backs freedom, democracy and liberty it must stand united with the courageous rebels in Iran.
But resistance groups have said the “only solution is regime change by the Iranian people”.
Kamran Dalir, a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), told The Sun: “Of course, people of Iran expect a firm policy by all democratic governments.
“Experience has shown that neither foreign war and military force nor appeasement and concessions to the regime will not lead to a change.
“Therefore, the path to change is entirely internal, relying on the
social power of the people and the Iranian Resistance.
“This overthrow will be realised by the people’s uprising, the resistance network inside Iran and the resistance units, which are playing a leading role in the current protests.
“At this very moment, Resistance Units are actively participating in the protests and guiding them in various cities.”
Amid the brutal crackdown, the vengeful demonstrators.
Erfan Soltani, 26, is set to be executed today – just four days after he was seized.
His execution will be the first of a protester since the uprising began at the end of last year.
Tehran is now beginning to expedite court hearings so they can execute convicted “ringleaders of unrest”.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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