Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
It is becoming increasingly clear that security forces have killed tens of thousands of demonstrators during protests in Iran. The Washington Post has now reconstructed a massacre in the city of Rasht.
January 26, 2026, 3:09 p.mJanuary 26, 2026, 3:09 p.m
Security forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran shot at dozens of demonstrators in the city of Rasht on the night of January 8th to 9th as they fled the burning bazaar.
This is reported by the Washington Post citing four eyewitnesses. People had already taken to the streets in Rasht, the capital of the Iranian province of Gilan on the Caspian Sea, which has around 700,000 inhabitants, to demand the overthrow of the mullahs’ regime.
When hundreds of thousands demonstrated across the country on January 8 following a protest call by Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi, a massacre occurred in Rasht, according to eyewitnesses. Pahlavi called for people to take to the streets from 8 p.m. An eyewitness said:
“The crowd was so huge that more and more people joined us on every street or alley we passed.”
It remained relatively calm until security forces started shooting directly at people after 8:30 p.m. They had previously tried to disperse the protesters with tear gas, which was unsuccessful.
Iranian security forces gunned down dozens of protesters trying to escape a devastating blaze in the Caspian Sea city of Rasht during a nationwide uprising earlier this month, according to witness accounts provided to The Post.https://t.co/TDiGWXAC2b
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) January 26, 2026
Around 9 p.m., Rasht’s historic open-air bazaar caught fire for unknown reasons. Demonstrators had hidden there from regime security forces. As they fled the flames, they ran into uniformed riot police and those in civilian clothes who were chasing the demonstrators on foot or on motorcycles.
The security forces were armed with shotguns or assault riflesreports one of the eyewitnesses. They shot directly at the demonstrators.
“Security forces fired Kalashnikovs into the bazaar. It was terrifying. They killed so many people, even people who were escaping.”
Saman, eyewitness
The police officers are also said to have blocked the fire department, two eyewitnesses report. According to the Washington Post, over 30 shops burned in the bazaar and outside on Shariati Street. Firefighters are said to have only gained access to the bazaar after 1 a.m., reports eyewitness Saman.
Medical data from Rasht and surrounding areas, which the Washington Post received, show for the two days over 80 deaths in the city’s two hospitals alone. The human rights organization HRANA based in the USA documented 392 deaths in Rashtall from January 8th or the days thereafter. An unknown number of protesters were arrested. Her fate is unknown.
The latest estimates from the US magazine “Time” speak of up to 30,000 deaths nationwide. They cite two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health. Most of the demonstrators were probably killed on January 8th and 9th. Iran International – one of the two most important Iranian television channels in exile – speaks of at least 36,500 deaths.