Footage shared on an anonymous Telegram account showed a protest in Bandar-e Anzali, northern Iran, on Thursday, January 8, 2026. TELEGRAM
The first messages came in at 2 am Tehran time. "It was spectacular! The crowd was incredibly large, their courage exemplary. From 8 pm to midnight, I walked from downtown to the north of Tehran. Law enforcement fired tear gas and used pellet guns. The most popular chants supported Reza Pahlavi [the exiled son of Iran's last shah], as well as: 'Death to the dictator,'" said Sahand (who asked to remain anonymous), a 47-year-old resident of Tehran, describing the night of January 8. It was the largest protest since the new wave of unrest began on December 28, 2025. Taking advantage of a few minutes of internet access, Sahand was able to send these messages before being disconnected.
Before the shutdown, videos of protests in many Iranian cities were posted online. In Karadj (30 kilometers east of Tehran), Mashhad (northeast), Babol (north) and Kermanshah (west), protesters chanted slogans such as "Death to Khamenei," Iran's supreme leader, and "This is the last battle, Pahlavi will return," referring to the dynasty overthrown in 1979 by the Islamic Revolution. Many videos showed fires in prefabricated buildings, police vehicles and mosque gates.
