While thousands of Iranian protesters lie dead in makeshift morgues outside Tehran, the international community’s response reveals who benefits from the regime’s survival. President Trump threatens military action. Europe promises sanctions that never materialize. Middle East neighbors actively lobby Washington to stand down. And Iranian proxy militias—the same terrorists who killed Americans in Iraq—pull triggers on Iranian streets.
The death toll remains disputed, with estimates ranging from 1,000 to over 12,000 killed since protests erupted December 28. Amnesty International verified footage from a Kahrizak morgue showing at least 205 body bags. Eyewitnesses describe bodies “piled on top of each other” in overflow facilities. The regime shut down internet access January 8 to conceal the massacre and deployed security forces with shoot-to-kill orders.
Trump stands nearly alone among world leaders willing to impose real costs. He threatened military action if killing continued, claimed Iran “cancelled” 800 scheduled executions after US pressure, and maintains “all options remain on the table.” The Pentagon is considering deploying the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group. On January 15, Treasury sanctioned Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani—who coordinates the regime’s crackdown—along with provincial IRGC commanders whose forces killed numerous protesters. Treasury also targeted entities laundering Iranian oil proceeds through shadow banking networks. US Special Envoy to Iraq announced a comprehensive Treasury review of Iraq’s banking sector to dismantle networks financing Iranian smuggling.
Europe offers strongly-worded statements followed by inaction. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola banned Iranian diplomats and called for designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization—a measure Parliament has demanded since 2023 without result. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz claimed the regime is in its “final weeks,” yet Germany merely advised airlines to avoid Iranian airspace. The G7 threatened “additional restrictive measures” with no timeline. Britain, Belgium, Spain, and Italy summoned Iranian ambassadors. UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for “maximum restraint”—asking nicely for the regime to stop massacring citizens.
The real obstruction comes from Iran’s neighbors, who are actively undermining US intervention. Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman launched a diplomatic campaign to prevent military action. Riyadh told both Washington and Tehran it will not allow US use of Saudi airspace for strikes. Gulf states warned attacking Iran could “have the opposite effect and unite Iranians behind the regime.”
The rationale is transparent self-interest. Saudi Arabia normalized ties with Iran in March 2023, and Iranian proxies in Yemen immediately stopped firing missiles at Saudi cities. Dubai serves as a key trade port with Iran. Saudi Arabia is pursuing economic diversification requiring regional stability. An American strike threatens these arrangements. A regional official summarized Gulf thinking to CNN: “Any military escalation will have consequences for the wider region, including its security and economy.”
Iran warned Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Turkey that US bases on their soil will be attacked if Washington strikes. This prompted the US to withdraw some personnel from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar as a “precautionary” measure. Qatar’s former Prime Minister declared US military action “will not be in the interest of America’s friends in the region.” Saudi Arabia told the White House that regime overthrow would destabilize oil markets and harm the US economy.
Russia and China run interference while claiming to oppose foreign interference. Russia condemned “subversive external interference” and called US threats “categorically unacceptable.” China told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that Beijing “opposes imposing its will on other countries.” Turkey’s Foreign Minister blamed Mossad for manipulating the protests.
But the buried story is that Iranian proxy terrorists are actively suppressing protests on Iranian streets. Iraqi Shia militias have deployed between 800 and 5,000 fighters into Iran since early January, according to European military assessments reviewed by CNN. The fighters belong to Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada, and the Badr Organization—all US-designated terrorist groups operating under Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces.
These fighters crossed through border points like Shalamcheh disguised as religious pilgrims, then assembled at a regime base in Ahvaz before deploying to Tehran, Hamedan, and Mashhad. Iranian refugees report hearing Arabic dialects among security forces. One refugee told NewsNation: “Anti-riot forces on the streets of Mashhad are not even Iranians, they speak Arabic.”
Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani made a secret Baghdad visit January 6-8 for closed-door meetings with militia leaders. Official reports claimed he was “resolving internal disputes,” but the timing—as Iran’s crackdown intensified—exposes the real purpose. Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, secretary general of Kataib Hezbollah, declared it a “religious and moral duty” to defend the Islamic Republic. Iraqi fighters were recruited with $600 monthly offers to “defend the Islamic Revolution.” One Iraqi woman told The Media Line her friend accepted and crossed the border January 6 through Shalamcheh.
Lebanese Hezbollah sent fighters but released only a statement supporting the regime without threatening the US or Israel. The group is focused on reconstituting after Israel decimated its forces and fears triggering a full-scale conflict. The Afghan Fatemiyoun Brigade has also been deployed.
A European military assessment noted Iraqi militias “reported in several sensitive areas in Iran, including cities like Hamedan, where they have been involved in the crackdown on protests.” These are the same forces that killed Americans in Iraq and slaughtered over 300,000 Syrians supporting Assad. Now they’re killing Iranians for pay.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi told Fox News that “terrorist elements led from outside” carried out ISIS-like operations, claiming terrorists captured police officers and burned them alive. The regime is forcing families seeking bodies to sign statements attributing deaths to “terrorists” or claiming the deceased was a Basij member. The internet shutdown enables the regime to perpetuate these lies while restricting independent reporting.
The international response exposes competing interests. Gulf states prioritize economic relationships with Iran over Iranian lives. European leaders make promises requiring no sacrifice. Russia and China shield Iran from accountability. Iraqi terrorist organizations earn paychecks killing unarmed civilians. Some Arab states now view Israel as a bigger strategic threat than Iran following the Gaza war.
The regime has suppressed protests through brutal force and pervasive securitization, but it hasn’t addressed the economic crisis that triggered the uprising. The rial continues its collapse, trading around 1.43 million to the dollar. The regime’s widespread mobilization of security forces is unsustainable. When it can no longer maintain this posture, protests could resume.
While bodies pile up in Kahrizak and families search for missing loved ones during a digital blackout, most world leaders protect the regime doing the killing. The Trump administration stands alone imposing real costs. Europe writes letters. Arab neighbors lobby against intervention to protect trade deals. And Iranian proxy militias—paid terrorists wearing Iraqi militia uniforms—shoot Iranian protesters demanding freedom their own government denies them.
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