Solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran!
The last few weeks in Iran have been marked by protests and civil war-like conditions. However, the regime change hoped for by imperialist foreign powers and large sections of the Western left has not materialized. This was largely due to the mass mobilization of the Iranian people, who took to the streets in their millions to oppose the violence of a the armed section of the protests (largely foreign) and to express their fundamental support for the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI). The military strike announced by the US and Israel has not yet materialized. However, this is no guarantee that it will remain that way, as reports of weapons systems being moved into the region are mounting.
Most left-wing and communist forces in Germany, but also in other imperialist countries, have indiscriminately backed the protests and cheered on their progression toward civil war. In doing so, they have often uncritically reproduced the narratives and supposed facts put forward by imperialism, while simply ignoring counter-movements (such as the large-scale popular mobilizations in defense of the IRI). In this text, we take the positions of left-wing and communist actors as a starting point in order to contrast them with a background, the course of the protests, the character of the IRI, and the consequences of a successful regime change. We show how the positioning of the left-wing and communist movement in the imperialist center—whether intentional or unintentional—helps to legitimize the war course against Iran and thus effectively works against the interests of the Iranian people.
For if it is indeed a matter of supporting the Iranian people in their struggle for greater self-determination, our struggle must be directed against the ongoing economic war waged by means of sanctions and against the open military preparations for war against Iran.
Reason for and composition of the protests
Protests began in Iran on December 28, 2025, triggered by high inflation rates and, above all, the sudden collapse of the rial, which was likely due to deliberate currency manipulation (either by the “reformers”1 in Iran itself or by imperialist foreign powers, something that remains to be clarified). These protests were initiated by the strike of the “Bazaaris” in Tehran, a class of merchants whose businesses, dependent on the exchange rate, were significantly hampered by the currency’s decline and who wanted to put pressure on the government. Although those who did not want to close their businesses were threatened with violence2, the protests themselves were initially rather peaceful, spread to other cities, and eventually took the form of a wave of protests. This had a clear economic starting point. Gradually, however, rioters and terrorist cells became more active in the protests, and by January 8 at the latest, the situation had turned into an uprising with scenes resembling civil war, before subsiding significantly in the following days, thanks in part to an internet blackout. The government repeatedly assured the public that it was taking the economic concerns seriously and distinguished between demonstrators and terrorist elements.3 Hundreds of thousands of Iranians initially took to the streets, and by January 12 at the latest, millions had done so, to take a clear stand against the subversive violence and to show their fundamental support for the Islamic Republic.4 By this point at the latest, the overthrow of the system longed for by Western leftists had failed.
A decisive factor in the hopelessness and difficult economic situation—and thus the protests—are the Western and UN sanctions against the country. As early as 1979, Washington imposed sanctions on Tehran, which became increasingly aggressive and far-reaching over time. Between 2012 and 2023 alone, Iran is estimated to have suffered damages amounting to $1.2 trillion.5 According to the World Bank, per capita GDP fell from approximately $8,000 in 2012 to approximately $5,000 in 2024.6 In addition, there have been massive impacts on the healthcare system, which have claimed countless lives.7 Life expectancy in sanctioned countries falls by an average of 1.2 to 1.4 years.8 Before the Russian Federation replaced Iran in 2022, it was the most sanctioned country in the world.9 The imposition of sanctions correlated with a slump in economic performance.10 Sanctions also always result in the development of a black market, which greatly encourages corruption.
A left-wing and communist movement in the imperialist center should actually start here and focus on the fight against sanctions, which make life in Iran unbearable and are also intended to undermine the country and ultimately eliminate the system of government. This would be particularly important in Germany, because it plays a central role in the current impoverishment with the completely unjustified reinstatement of sanctions through the snapback mechanism under the Iran nuclear agreement. Even though the sanctions are mentioned by many, at least in passing, the issue is given virtually no attention in actual activity—after all, the same goal is pursued with regard to Iran as by the imperialists who are implementing the sanctions: to overthrow the state.
On violence by the state and terrorists
The statements and articles of the communist movement in the broader sense are unanimous when it comes to the allegedly excessive violence by the state security forces in Iran. Almost word for word, they refer to brutal and bloody repression ( the group “Kommunistische Partei”11), a “brutal massacre” (Kommunistischer Aufbau12), “brutal oppression” (Sozialismus von Unten (SvU) and International Socialist Tendency (IST)13), “bloody crackdown” (Nick Brauns, junge Welt14), “murderous crackdown” (German Foreign Policy15), “bloody repression” (Perspektive Online16). “Thousands of demonstrators” were shot down (IST17) or “killed in cold blood” (Rebell18), possibly even more than 10,000 people “massacred” (Fabian Lehr19). One article writes of a “bloodbath” (“Revolutionäre Kommunistische Partei”20), another is even titled “Towards the bullets” (Lower Class Magazine21) – there was no shortage of eloquent language, but there was a shortage of facts that contradicted this narrative.
According to consistent reports, the death toll runs into the thousands. According to statements by the Iranian Ministry of the Interior and the Foundation for Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, a total of 3,117 people were killed, including 2,427 civilians and members of the security forces – the remaining 690 are presumably implied to be the Iranian figures for dead terrorists.22 According to its own figures, Iran had several hundred dead security forces to mourn,23 while Supreme Leader Khamenei spoke of several thousand killed by terrorists.24 Reuters claims to quote an Iranian official who puts the death toll at around 5,000, including about 500 security forces.25 Even if this ratio is correct, it does not necessarily indicate excessive violence on the part of the government – especially since many of the deaths are likely to be attributable to the terrorist cells themselves. State-affiliated Iranian media reports that most people were deliberately killed by terrorist cells when Trump threatened further deaths with a military strike.26 The early figures were circulated by US-funded “NGOs”27; for instance, the five-digit death tolls used by the influencer Fabian Lehr is a number claimed by the pro-imperialist press28.
The well-documented violence of the terrorists during the uprisings, on the other hand, is not mentioned at all in any of the left-wing and communist articles and statements. However, even the Western bourgeois press documented burning mosques29, media houses30, and government buildings31. According to Iranian sources, for example, 250 schools and 300 mosques32 were destroyed or damaged, fire stations were attacked33, and 180 ambulances were set on fire34. According to a report by Asr Iran, on January 8, the residence of the Palestinian Authority (PA) ambassador to Iran was also attacked and vandalized by 200 people with Molotov cocktails.35 This should come as no surprise, given that the opposition to the Islamic Republic, both at home and abroad, has been complaining for years about the ongoing support for Palestine.
In addition to at least one infant killed by the terrorists36, there are numerous videos that clearly document the deliberate destruction of mosques37, organized use of firearms38, mob-like attacks39, and even lynchings40. In addition, there are reports of a hospital being set on fire41, beheadings42, and at least one police officer43 and one security guard44 allegedly being set on fire. The organized violence evident in the videos alone45 shows that these are definitely not just demonstrators.
The imperialist interference is also quite open: former Israeli Defense Minister Gallant said that Israel must remain in the background and “steer the protest with an invisible hand” so that the desired regime change looks organic.46 The Mossad itself had publicly stated that it was involved in the uprisings on the ground.47 A journalist from Israel’s Channel 14 also reported that foreign forces were supplying the uprising with live ammunition and weapons, which is why hundreds of Iranian security forces are now dead.48 Of course, such boasts are part of the psychological warfare against Iran. However, this does not mean that they should be dismissed as mere Zionist propaganda: it is well known that Israel has repeatedly carried out attacks in Iran over the years.49 In addition to weapons, vast quantities of Starlink devices were also intercepted by the Iranian secret service.50 As has been the case for years51, Kurdish militiamen were in the country and involved in armed clashes.52 Several Kurdish parties (including the PAK and the PKK’s sister organization, the PJAK) had recently agreed on a “united approach” in Iran.53 The US-trained and pro-Israeli54 separatist militia PAK has since admitted to taking up arms against Iranian security forces55 – which, given the “united approach,” strongly suggests that the other Kurdish militias were also involved in armed conflict. Similarly, the terrorist group Jaish al-Adl claimed responsibility for an attack during the uprisings.56 Former British diplomat and intelligence agent Alastair Crooke describes not only the extreme violence of the terrorists, but also a deliberate escalation tactic57 of murdering bystanders, similar to the shootings on Maidan on February 20, 201458.
The large-scale elimination of the regime change tool Starlink59, whose base stations had already been smuggled into Iran for years60, was an important success that almost completely shut down the internet. This was partly because, as reported by the Israeli press, the US also waged war against Iran via the internet during the uprising.61 In addition, during the last attack on Iran in 2025, Israel had used a botnet to spread targeted fake news in order to incite the population to overthrow the government.62 On the other hand, it was also an important success because it deprived the terrorists of their means of coordination – suddenly, the uprising collapsed. This is another important indication that the demonstrators, rioters, and terrorists had not come together spontaneously, but that there was at least some support from abroad—a genuine popular uprising rooted in the masses could not be ended by blocking the internet. The claim spread in statements by the communist movement that Iran had shut down the internet only to be able to massacre the protests in peace is also being proven false: if that were the case, the networks would now be flooded with recorded videos of the protests, at the latest since the internet was reconnected. Obviously, the communist movement has once again spread the false narratives of the ruling class.
In view of the war situation imposed on Iran from outside, as described above, the communist movement’s scandalization of self-defense is all the more shameful. Not only does it support this war against Iran, it actually encourages it in the context of the uprisings and uncritically spreads imperialist narratives.
Timing of publications and demonstrations
What is also striking is that many of the statements were published at a time when the overthrow of the Islamic Republic had already clearly failed (e.g., IST and the “Kommunistische Partei” group on January 14, Hands Off Wedding on January 1863). The demonstrations go even further: SvU took part in a demonstration in Berlin on January 1864, and Rote Aufbau Hamburg is even calling for another demonstration on January 2465. However, the mass demonstrations in defense of the Islamic Republic in Iran, with millions of participants, and the uprisings66, which were almost non-existent at that point, had painted a clear picture by January 12 at the latest: the majority of Iranians do not support the terrorists backed by foreign powers and their trail of destruction and murder, but rather, when in doubt, support the Islamic Republic. However, in the days that followed, the bourgeois press and social media channels continued to keep the issue alive artificially and with the help of brazen lies, primarily to keep open the option of a military strike by the US and/or Israel, along with its media justification. While the bourgeois press had long since had to admit the failure of the uprising67, this does not seem to apply to the leftist scene. On January 18, for example, Rote Aufbau Hamburg published a statement68—written entirely in the present tense—falsely suggesting that the uprising was still ongoing nationwide. Exaggerating the scale of protests in countries and suggesting a state of loss of control is part of the psychological warfare waged by the West, which is willingly joined here.
In a climate where there is in fact no longer any promising uprising, but only the option of a Western attack against the country on the table, publishing a statement or even calling for a demonstration objectively has the effect of providing support for such an attack. Even if one explicitly distances oneself from it, it leads to demonizing Iran in a situation where a potential war against it is on the agenda—and thus also weakens any anti-war efforts in this country for such a case. To join the agenda of one’s own bourgeois press, one’s own imperialists in this way, to spread their (often false) narratives and thus objectively helping them to sell their potential attack on Iran to the public, is politically fatal. Even if one looks at Iran from an anti-government perspective, this does a disservice to any supposed solidarity with the Iranian people, as one’s own behavior promotes a war against Iran.
On the character of the Islamic Republic of Iran
With very few exceptions, it seems to be completely natural for the communist and left-wing movement worldwide to follow the rhetoric of the ruling class in characterizing the Islamic Republic of Iran as a “mullah regime”69 and to use adjectives such as ‘reactionary’ and “fascist”70 to describe it. Some seem to want to outdo the bourgeois mainstream only by exaggerating.71 It is clear that this view is due to the bloody history of the defeat of all left-wing and communist movements after the revolution by the new state leadership under Khomeini. Few Iranian communists72 have managed to reflect on this history self-critically. Not to mention the terrorist opposition abroad, such as the MEK73, or separatist movements such as the PJAK74, which are now openly led by US imperialism.
At this point, it should be noted that in recent decades, the Western left has established a largely very poor relationship with separatism. This is usually propagated uncritically, as is the case with Iran in relation to “Kurdistan” and “Baluchistan.” The fatal consequences can be observed in Syria, where the US protectorate for “Rojava,” which had existed for about a decade, deliberately robbed the central government of oil, wheat, and cotton revenues and occupied a third of the country until the Syrian Arab Republic—a long-standing central opponent of Israel and the US—was finally eliminated in December 2024 (to the cheers of many German leftists). When the predictable consequences of what left-wing and communist actors have supported become apparent—such as the current massacres in Syria or the catastrophic collapse of Libya—they say that this was not what they wanted and move on to the agenda of the day without any self-critical reflection.
This left can be harnessed to the agenda of the bourgeois press, “NGOs,” etc., which highlight virtually all supposedly or actually oppressed peoples and nations because weakening, disintegrating, or balkanizing the corresponding states is in the interest of the imperialists. It now seems to largely view it as progress in itself to have ethnically “clean” state structures and thus helps on a larger scale to attack the multi-ethnic state as such. This is one of the greatest remaining achievements of the region, which, not coincidentally, could and had to be established in struggles against colonialism, monarchy, and imperialist foreign rule. Each situation must be analyzed specifically, but given the mosaic of different religious and ethnic groups in West Asia, one must ask to what extent it is progress for the region to fall into separatism and never-ending wars over territory.
How can the Islamic Republic of Iran be characterized? First of all, by studying its history and present! The international communist movement seems far removed from this. We will not provide an analysis of Iran here either, but we will at least point out a few realities that are relevant to our assessment. No one disputes that this republic is the result of the 1979 popular revolution, which ended the history of monarchies once and for all. But no one seems to care anymore that it is also a republic. It is claimed that power is concentrated solely in the hands of the revolutionary leader and the Revolutionary Guards subordinate to him. In fact, however, the Islamic Republic of Iran is both: it is a republic with a separation of powers and at the same time has a centralized power structure whose task is to ensure the security, control75, and preservation of the republic.
The relations of production are riddled with contradictions: although the capitalist mode of production prevailed in many industries after the war at the end of the 1980s, production remains large-scale and ownership of the means of production largely state-owned. The Western-oriented compradors, who have become rich through corruption and are referred to in Iran itself as an oligarchy, are the target of fierce disputes. Their harshest critics at home come from the ranks of the Revolutionary Guards. They are essentially fighting for the implementation of the constitution and the labor code. The working class in the country has grown immensely and has no significant independent organization outside the workers‘ council structures, which are enshrined in the constitution and controlled by the state. However, attempts at reorganization have been observed in recent years.
Over the past 47 years, Iran has developed into a country where economic development has been driven forward despite sanctions, a very vibrant civil society culture has developed, and at the same time it remains a strong nation that stands up to imperialist aggression. As a multi-ethnic state, Iran is largely a unified nation with a national identity based on multi-ethnicity. Iran is certainly full of contradictions, foremost among them the contradiction between labor and capital. At the same time, the most loyal supporters of the revolutionary leader and the Islamic Republic are recruited from the working class. Their class instinct seems to extend far beyond the limited horizons of many Western leftists: to repel imperialist aggression while asserting their own class interests in the country without allowing themselves to be incited against other peoples in the region or worldwide. This is still the spirit that has brought the masses onto the streets in their defense since the revolution, as was recently the case on January 12, 2026.
Quo vadis?
The communist movement in Germany almost unanimously wishes the uprisings76 every success in destroying the Iranian state. But before supporting this, one must ask oneself what could realistically follow the Islamic Republic. And that is the Syria scenario: civil war, Balkanization, ethnic and religious massacres. In short: catastrophe. On the one hand, because there is no unified, organized opposition capable of filling the vacuum nationwide, and on the other hand, because separatist forces have long been armed by the imperialists precisely for this purpose, to destroy Iran as a potentially dangerous power factor in the long term through Balkanization. The forces built up and armed by the US and Israel, whether monarchists or separatists, are obviously not even capable of creating a united opposition, let alone governing a multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and highly educated country like Iran. There is simply no one who could hold the state together.
The establishment of socialism, on the other hand, is unrealistic in the current situation. Some forces admit that this is unlikely, but then justify their pro-overthrow stance with phrases such as “it is extremely dynamic” (Dorna, SvU77) or that one should simply have faith in the Iranian workers (Fabian Lehr78). Most of the communist forces in Germany that are positive about the attempts at overthrow at least pay lip service to the necessity of a communist party anchored in the masses in order to successfully take power in a revolution. As they themselves recognize, this does not exist in Iran, but the transition to socialism is apparently supposed to happen spontaneously anyway. Why not just discard the experiences of the labor movement in party and revolutionary theory! A successful uprising would not lead to socialism, but to the collapse of the country. The Iranian working class would have nothing to gain from it, but potentially everything to lose.
To put it bluntly: this irresponsible adventurism, which has already helped to destroy destroy Libya and Syria and impoverish the entire region for decades, is an admission of failure and must be sharply criticized and rejected. A communist movement must analyze the situation soberly and, in some situations, defend the status quo instead of cheering on an uprising that is objectively harmful. This is not a game or a movie. The lives of millions of people depend on it.
Instead of de facto participating in the war against Iran, in the face of a potentially imminent attack by the US/Israel and the current attempts to undermine the state, we must say clearly:
No to aggression against Iran!
Away with sanctions!
Solidarity with the Islamic Republic of Iran!
1 The term “reformers” refers to those elements of Iranian politics who seek negotiations and better relations with the West, tend to advocate neoliberal economic policies, and can be regarded as representatives of the comprador section of the Iranian bourgeoisie.
2 See, for example, https://thecradle.co/articles/irans-collapsing-currency-exposes-the-profiteers-behind-the-crisis
3 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/17/irans-khamenei-says-us-israel-links-behind-thousands-killed-in-protests
4 https://thecradle.co/articles/millions-take-to-the-streets-of-iran-in-mass-counterprotests-against-riots-foreign-interference
5 https://www.iranintl.com/en/202406244025
6 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/13/how-us-sanctions-crippled-lives-of-iranians-trump-says-he-wants-to-help
7 https://www.hrw.org/de/news/2019/10/29/iran-sanktionen-gefaehrden-gesundheit, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(13)61024-7/fulltext
8 Ibid.
9 https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-07/russia-surges-past-iran-to-become-world-s-most-sanctioned-nation
10 https://www.ft.com/content/770dc40f-66be-4542-a584-3b6144117314
11 https://kommunistischepartei.de/stellungnahmen/freiheit-fuer-das-volk-im-iran-nein-zur-imperialistischen-intervention/
12 https://komaufbau.org/stellen-wir-uns-auf-die-seite-der-unterdrueckten-voelker-westasiens/
13 https://sozvu.org/iran-solidaritaet-mit-dem-aufstand-nein-zu-interventionen-von-aussen/
14 https://www.jungewelt.de/artikel/515638.vor-syrischem-szenario.html
15 https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/10264
16 https://perspektive-online.net/2026/01/horrorbilder-aus-teheran-proteste-im-iran-gehen-weiter/
17 https://sozvu.org/iran-solidaritaet-mit-dem-aufstand-nein-zu-interventionen-von-aussen/
18 https://rebell.info/2026/01/solidaritaet-mit-allen-menschen-die-weltweit-um-befreiung-kaempfen/
19 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OGAzZY3A9do
20 https://derfunke.at/26657-iran-revolution-gegen-die-islamische-republik-nieder-mit-der-einmischung-des-westlichen-imperialismus
21 lowerclassmag.com/2026/01/13/den-kugeln-entgegen/
22 https://www.tasnimnews.ir → Article available at: https://h7.cl/1nkCs
23 On January 11, the number was already reported to be 109: https://thecradle.co/articles/iran-says-over-100-security-police-forces-killed-by-armed-rioters
24 https://thecradle.co/articles/we-consider-trump-a-criminal-khamenei
25 https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/iranian-official-says-verified-deaths-iran-protests-reaches-least-5000-2026-01-18/
26 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49716
27 https://www.mintpressnews.com/revealed-the-cia-backed-think-tanks-fueling-the-iran-protests/290638/ or https://youtu.be/jM8fjeLTYGM?si=P1esSb4dV7k07OV8
28 The Times (UK), owned by Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch, claims 16,500 to 18,000 deaths here: https://www.thetimes.com/world/middle-east/article/iran-young-protesters-news-nsdztp5t2, while Saudi Arabia-funded Iran International puts the figure at at least 12,000: https://www.iranintl.com/en/202601130145
29 e.g. https://www.nbcnews.com/video/shorts/mosque-burns-during-protest-in-tehran-255766597809 or https://www.bbc.com/news/videos/c78e9vmn7dgo
30 https://www.ynetnews.com/article/syl1mpanwg
31 https://www.euronews.com/video/2026/01/10/footage-shows-government-buildings-on-fire-in-iran-amid-ongoing-protests
32 https://www.youtube.com/post/UgkxAP569brC2KgNqzcz9WthdX2YI25eMxv3
33 https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2010009197765693944
34 https://t.me/mintpress_news/12375
35 https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/19/762528/Palestinian-Ambassador-residence-in-Tehran-attacked-amid-terror-wave
36 See https://t.me/mintpress_news/12319 or https://www.youtube.com/shorts/7Rqn7YUw2OU, Reports of other cases, e.g. here: https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2026/01/15/762364/Iran–Bahareh-Trump-Israel–
37 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49563 and https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49829
38 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49638 and https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49837
39 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2YYOr5dSIaQ, also available here: https://x.com/Megatron_ron/status/2011888932108320921
40 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15pE6_6Ja9c and https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49396 and https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49670 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOdBDK-Gg34
41 Mentioned, for example, here: https://www.nachdenkseiten.de/?p=144866
42 See, for example, https://www.palestinechronicle.com/what-a-war-on-iran-would-really-look-like-beyond-the-regime-change-fantasy/ or https://www.tasnimnews.ir → Article available at: https://h7.cl/1nkCs
43 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49460
44 https://thecradle.co/articles/khamenei-slams-arrogant-trump-vows-iran-will-not-back-down-as-violent-riots-spread
45 A summary can be found in this documentation, which was shared by the Iranian Foreign Minister on Twitter/X, but is no longer available there: https://t.me/BisimchiMedia/155125
46 https://t.me/mintpress_news/12373
47 https://x.com/i/web/status/2005649986504237381
48 https://x.com/DropSiteNews/status/2011346215380680897
49 See, for example, https://thecradle.co/articles/israels-war-on-irans-scientific-resistance-inside-the-targeted-killings-of-nuclear-minds
50 https://thecradle.co/articles/iranian-intelligence-seizes-us-made-weapons-explosives-smuggled-by-western-backed-rioters
51 https://thecradle.co/articles/armed-kurdish-groups-dispatched-from-iraq-to-join-iran-riots-report
52 https://thecradle.co/articles/kurdish-separatist-militia-admits-targeting-iranian-security-forces-during-recent-riots
53 https://deutsch.anf-news.com/kurdistan/-49561
54 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-857931
55 https://thecradle.co/articles/kurdish-separatist-militia-admits-targeting-iranian-security-forces-during-recent-riots
56 https://thecradle.co/articles/khamenei-slams-arrogant-trump-vows-iran-will-not-back-down-as-violent-riots-spread
57 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49823
58 See, for example, here: https://www.ardmediathek.de/video/monitor/todesschuesse-in -kiew-wer-ist-fuer-das-blutbad-vom-maidan-verantwortlich/das-erste/Y3JpZDovL3dkci5kZS9CZWl0cmFnLTc2ZGM1N2M0LTI0OTAtMTFlNS1hOWE3LTUyMjFhZjBjMmJiNQ
59 https://x.com/TheCradleMedia/status/2009376711360827790
60 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/14/is-starlink-helping-iranians-break-internet-blackout-and-how-does-it-work
61 https://t.me/thecradlemedia/49729
62 https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/security-aviation/2025-10-03/ ty-article-magazine/.premium/the-israeli-influence-operation-in-iran-pushing-to-reinstate-the-shah-monarchy/00000199-9f12-df33-a5dd-9f770d7a0000
63 https://www.unverwertbar.org/aktuell/2026/9830/
64 https://www.instagram.com/sozialismus_von_unten/reel/DTp5Omligb1/
65 https://www.instagram.com/p/DTp2bZdihN2/
66 https://thecradle.co/articles/millions-take-to-the-streets-of-iran-in-mass-counterprotests-against-riots-foreign-interference
67 e.g. Tagesschau on January 16: https://www.tagesschau.de/ausland/asien/iran-proteste-290.html
68 https://www.instagram.com/p/DTp2bZdihN2/
69 For example, the weekend edition of junge Welt on January 3 this year featured the headline “Masses against mullahs”: https://www.jungewelt.de/aktuell/pdf/index.php?day=2026-01-03
70 e.g. https://rebell.info/2026/01/solidaritaet-mit-allen-menschen-die-weltweit-um-befreiung-kaempfen/
71 For example, Fabian Lehr, who speaks of the “ultra-reactionary Iranian regime” (source: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OGAzZY3A9do)
72 Examples: https://english.10mehr.com/ or https://t.me/ttadarok
73 Mudjahedeen-e Khalq
74 Partiya Jiyana Azad a Kurdistanê
75 Whereby “control” also includes moral and religious leadership.
76 Opposing views were expressed by Joachim Guilliard and Manfred Ziegler in the UZ, for example.
77 https://youtu.be/U-sgfdl9NYE?si=x1BKA-F100poILnY&t=3328
78 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OGAzZY3A9do