Statement by ADL's Task Force on Middle East Minorities on the Nationwide Protests in Iran
New York, NY, January 13, 2026 ... The Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) Task Force on Middle East Minorities issued the following statement regarding the nationwide protests in Iran:
In light of the nationwide protests across Iran, ADL’s Task Force on Middle East Minorities condemns the Islamic Republic's violent crackdown and calls on the international community to make clear to the Islamic Republic that it must respect the fundamental rights of the Iranian people.
Since late December 2025, protests have erupted across much of Iran. While initially triggered by severe economic distress, the demonstrations reflect deeper, longstanding grievances rooted in decades of violent government repression.
Iranian authorities have responded with a brutally violent crackdown. The Iranian diaspora-run Human Rights Activists News Agency and other monitoring groups widely cited by international media report that security forces have used live ammunition against demonstrators, resulting in large numbers of deaths and mass arbitrary arrests since late December. Reports from CNN, NPR, and the Centre for Human Rights in Iran describe the use of lethal force against demonstrators in multiple cities. Estimates of the regime's crackdown under the cover of a national internet blackout now range from 2,000 - 12,000 killed – the most violent internal repression in the 47-year history of the Islamic Republic.
Credible reporting indicates that the crackdown has been carried out in significant part by the Basij, a paramilitary volunteer militia operating under the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including through plain-clothes units. These actions underscore calls for governments to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The Iranian regime has a documented history of promoting global antisemitic violence, including through its terrorist proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis.
The United States and other nations should ensure that the suppression and persecution of protestors and dissidents is addressed as an urgent priority.