Critics say footage of arson, armed attacks, and foreign encouragement was sidelined in favor of one-sided narratives that amplified pressure in Washington for military action against Iran.
Jan 13, 2026
As foreign-backed riots spread across Iranian cities, Western media coverage has been accused of downplaying widespread violence while relying heavily on figures supplied by US government-funded organizations, a narrative critics say has contributed to escalating calls in Washington for renewed military action.
In an investigation by The Grayzone editor-in-chief Max Blumenthal and editor Wyatt Reed, the authors argue that major Western outlets have ignored mounting video evidence showing severe violence carried out by groups described by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as “largely peaceful” protesters.
Footage released by Iranian state media and other sources shows public lynchings of unarmed guards, attacks on mosques, arson at municipal buildings, markets, and fire stations, and armed men firing weapons in crowded city centres.
Just the other day, an innocent young woman in the United States—an American citizen and mother of three—was executed by ICE at point-blank range. The U.S. Administration labeled her a “domestic terrorist” while President Trump called it a matter of self-defense; the Department… https://t.co/WiAu92eDNh pic.twitter.com/8IWzvC8M6l
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) January 11, 2026
Despite this material, coverage in the US and Europe has focused almost exclusively on alleged abuses by Iranian authorities, the report argues, while relying on casualty figures produced by Iranian diaspora NGOs funded by the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), a body long associated with US regime-change efforts.
NGO data dominates coverage as foreign actors intervene
The NED has openly claimed a role in supporting the “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests that swept Iran in 2023, demonstrations which, The Grayzone report notes, also involved serious violence that received limited scrutiny from Western media and rights organizations. Today, the NED is only one of several actors accused of fuelling instability inside Iran.
“Israel’s” intelligence agency, Mossad, publicly urged Iranians to intensify efforts to overthrow the government through messages posted on its official Farsi-language account on X.
“Go out together into the streets. The time has come,” the message read. “We are with you. Not only from a distance and verbally. We are with you in the field.”
From economic protest to violent unrest
Protests initially broke out in early January 2026 after merchants demonstrated against inflation driven by Western sanctions. Iranian authorities responded by allowing the bazaar protests to proceed under police protection. According to The Grayzone account, these demonstrations soon dissipated as armed rioters moved to escalate violence, encouraged by foreign governments and figures including Reza Pahlavi, who has described government employees and state media as “legitimate targets”.
On January 9, Mashhad saw some of the most intense clashes. Municipal officials said rioters torched fire stations, killing firefighters, attacked buses, vandalised metro stations, and targeted city workers, causing more than $18 million in damage.
In Kermanshah, armed groups were filmed firing automatic weapons at police, while a three-year-old girl, Melina Asadi, was shot dead during the unrest. In several provinces, videos circulated showing unarmed guards being beaten to death.
In Kermanshah, #Iran, a father recounts the devastating moment his 3-year-old daughter was killed during violent unrest caused by saboteurs in the country. What was meant to be a simple trip to the pharmacy turned into a nightmare.
He describes the chaos, the sudden gunfire, and… pic.twitter.com/aGBGs4lX1K
— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) January 9, 2026
Footage also showed a public bus set ablaze in central Iran on January 10. In Tehran, armed rioters attacked the historic Abazar Mosque, setting parts of it on fire, while other groups reportedly burned Qurans inside religious sites in Sarableh and Khuzestan.
Municipal buildings were torched in Karaj, a central market was destroyed in Rasht, and in Borujen, a historic library containing ancient manuscripts was reportedly burned during overnight looting.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry later summoned ambassadors from Britain, France, Germany, and Italy to view footage of the violence, but the incidents drew little reaction from Western governments or major news outlets.
Competing death tolls and the role of NED-funded groups
Iranian authorities say more than 100 police and security personnel have been killed during the unrest. Western media, however, have largely relied on figures from two Washington-based NGOs funded by the National Endowment for Democracy: the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran and Human Rights Activists in Iran.
A 2024 NED statement described the Boroumand Center as a formal “partner” organization. Human Rights Activists in Iran acknowledged in 2021 that it began receiving NED funding after being accused by Tehran of links to the CIA a decade earlier.
The NED was established during the Reagan administration to continue overseas political interventions once conducted covertly by US intelligence. One of its founders, Allen Weinstein, later acknowledged that “a lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”
Despite this, outlets including The Washington Post and ABC News have cited the Boroumand Center without disclosing its funding. The organization’s board includes Francis Fukuyama, a prominent neoconservative thinker and signatory to the Project for the New American Century.
Figures from Human Rights Activists in Iran have circulated even more widely, with their estimate of 544 deaths cited by dozens of US and Israeli outlets, as well as by intelligence-linked firm Stratfor, which framed the unrest as an opportunity for US or Israeli meddling.
Inflated claims and pressure for military action
With casualty figures difficult to independently verify, social media influencers and political activists have amplified far higher death tolls. Laura Loomer, a Trump ally, claimed that more than 6,000 protesters had been killed, citing an unnamed intelligence source.
Prediction market Polymarket went further, asserting without evidence that more than 10,000 people had been killed and that Iran had “lost nearly all control” of several major cities. Polymarket, backed by investor Peter Thiel and advised by Donald Trump Jr., has previously been criticized for allowing insiders to profit from advance knowledge of military and political developments.
The Grayzone report argues that such claims are helping to push the US president toward military escalation. Stratfor itself acknowledged that while unrest could justify meddling, renewed strikes would likely strengthen Iranian nationalism, as seen after US and Israeli attacks in 2025.
Trump threats as protests slow
Western leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, have publicly endorsed the protests.
“If Iran shots [sic] and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump said. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”
He later warned, “You better not start shooting [protesters] – because we’ll start shooting too,” before announcing new tariffs on countries trading with Iran.
Trump is now reportedly weighing options ranging from cyber-operations to airstrikes. Yet protests appear to have slowed, with calm returning to several cities.
As tensions ease, large crowds have gathered in Tehran, Mashhad, and elsewhere to denounce the riots, reject foreign meddling, and express support for the government. According to critics, these demonstrations have received little attention in Western newsrooms.
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