US says real power in Iran lies with protesters, not armed regime

The US State Department has said that real power in Iran rests with protesters, not with the country’s armed authorities, as demonstrations continue across the country.

In a post on its Persian-language account on X on January 14, the department criticised the use of force against civilians, arguing that reliance on weapons exposes weakness rather than authority, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

“When a regime needs weapons to confront unarmed people, that is not power, it is fear and cowardice,” the post said. “Real power lies with unarmed protesters who stand up to that brutality.”

Information emerging from Iran on January 13 suggests that at least 12,000 people may have died in the government’s crackdown on nationwide protests, far higher than previously reported figures.

Activist groups compiling data from hospitals and medical officials say the toll could be even higher, though these figures have not been independently verified. Severe internet and communications restrictions have limited reporting, with Iran now in its fifth day of a near-total blackout.

Britain’s Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper told Parliament that the UK government estimates around 2,000 deaths, warning the true figure could be “significantly higher.” Iranian officials have not released comprehensive casualty figures, describing the unrest as driven by foreign-backed “terrorists.”

Outbound phone calls were briefly restored on 13 January, but incoming international calls remain blocked.

By Aghakazim Guliyev