January 17, 2026 | 06:16 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Protests in Iran seem to have subsided after weeks of mass unrest drew a bloody clampdown that has reportedly left thousands of people dead.
There have been no signs of protests for days in the capital, Tehran.
Authorities have not reported any unrest elsewhere in the Middle Eastern country. A week-old internet blackout, however, remains in place.
'Protests Could Resume'
The demonstrations began at the end of December amid growing anger and frustration over Iran's ailing economy. But they quickly morphed into the largest threat to the Islamic regime's rule since it took power in a 1979 revolution.
The regime cut off the internet and cracked down on the protesters.
Norway-based rights group Iran Human Rights (IHR) said 3,428 protesters have been verified to have been killed by security forces, but warns the actual toll could be several times higher.
The "brutal" repression has "likely suppressed the protest movement for now," said the US-based Institute for the Study of War, which has monitored the protest activity.
But it added: "The regime's widespread mobilization of security forces is unsustainable, however, which makes it possible that protests could resume."
Trump Thanks Iran's Leaders
US President Donald Trump, who threatened to intervene militarily in support of the protesters, appeared to have backed away from military action.
He struck a conciliatory note on Friday, thanking Iran's leaders for not executing detained protesters.
"Iran canceled the hanging of over 800 people," Trump told reporters while leaving the White House to spend the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, adding that he "greatly respected" the move.
It came after the White House said Thursday that "all options remain on the table for the president."
Putin Speaks to Iranian President
Russia, a close ally of Iran, also held talks to defuse the situation, the Kremlin said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke Friday to both Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, describing them as "efforts to facilitate de-escalation."
Moscow had previously kept largely quiet about the protests.
Iran's exiled crown prince urges US intervention
Meanwhile, Iran's exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi said he was confident the Islamic Republic would fall and called for foreign intervention.
Pahlavi, whose father was overthrown by Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, said he still believes Trump's promise of assistance. "I believe the president is a man of his word," Pahlavi told reporters in Washington. "Regardless of whether action is taken or not, we as Iranians have no choice but to carry on the fight," he added.
"I will return to Iran,” he vowed. Hours later, he urged protesters to take to the streets again from Saturday to Monday.
Read: Iran's Exiled Crown Prince Asks Europe's Help to End Regime
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