An Iranian man has told CBS News that he survived what he described as a deadly government crackdown on anti-regime protests in early January, amid a nationwide internet blackout.
Speaking anonymously for fear of execution, he recounted gunfire unleashed on crowds in the city of Yazd on January 9, which he said left hundreds dead in a single night.
Two sources, including one inside Iran, previously told CBS News that between 12,000 and 20,000 people may have been killed nationwide since protests erupted in December.
Iran’s leadership is sending a defiant warning to the United States as tensions soar. @fpleitgenCNN reports from inside Iran, and speaks to residents on the streets of the capital Tehran. pic.twitter.com/iXNlRQCLzc
— CNN International PR (@cnnipr) January 27, 2026
The witness said security forces appeared to fire from both directions to trap demonstrators, and that he escaped only by fleeing down a side street.
He said many protesters chanted the name of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran’s last shah. Pahlavi has claimed he could serve as a transitional figure, though his support inside Iran remains unclear.
Trump has warned Tehran against killing protesters and has raised the prospect of military action. The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group recently entered the region after threats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.
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Mark Pfeifle
TIPP Staff
TIPP Staff
