Iran Revolution: Nationwide protests in Iran entered their eighth day with escalating violence, including armed clashes, protester deaths, regime forces attacking a hospital, seizures of Revolutionary Guard bases, and reports of Supreme Leader Khamenei’s contingency plan to flee amid potential security force defections.
22-year-old woman protester dead
A 22-year-old woman Saghar Etemadi was injured during protests in the western Iranian city of Farsan has been hospitalized, as her case drew widespread attention on social media, according to information received by Iran International. She was shot in the face with pellet bullets by security forces and later died in hospital.
The woman was identified as Saghar Etemadi, a 22-year-old nail technician from Farsan in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.
ALSO READ: Iran Protests Escalate on 7th Day with Deaths and Regime Response
Saghar Etemadi, a 22-year-old Iranian protester, was shot in the face with pellet bullets by security forces and later died in hospital.
She stood up for a free Iran.
The regime killed her.Her last Instagram message before protesting:
“I’m afraid we’ll lose many more of us,… pic.twitter.com/Z7L4YKUcIE
— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 4, 2026
Protests escalate into violent confrontations
Iranian protests, now in their second week as of early January 2026, have turned increasingly violent in several provinces. Demonstrations that began over economic grievances have spread nationwide, with security forces using live ammunition in clashes that have killed at least 20 protesters. Rights groups report intense fighting in western areas like Ilam province, where footage shows street battles, fires, and apparent gunfire. Separate videos depict regime forces storming a hospital to detain or restrain injured civilians. An intelligence report also indicates Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has prepared an escape plan to Russia if loyalty among security forces wavers.
Good lord.
The streets of Ilam are an actual warzone.
This is the province where we now have reports that citizens have armed themselves and formed a real militia.
Stand with Iran. pic.twitter.com/9LbwMesJ0R
— 𝐍𝐢𝐨𝐡 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐠 ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) January 4, 2026
Economic collapse drives the unrest
The protests erupted in late December 2025 amid a severe economic crisis. Inflation exceeded 40 percent, the Iranian rial lost half its value against the dollar, and prices for food and essentials soared. International sanctions, including UN measures reinstated in 2025, compounded shortages of water and electricity. Government policies, such as ending subsidized dollar allocations, further eroded public trust. Initial strikes by merchants and traders quickly evolved into broader anti-regime demands, building on longstanding grievances from earlier unrest.
🇮🇷 I hate to pause your Venezuela celebrations, but I have to report that right now the Iranian people are seizing and setting fire to several Revolutionary Guard bases. This is historic. pic.twitter.com/eF1V1BCjQo
— WAR (@warsurveillance) January 4, 2026
Clashes intensify in provinces like Ilam
Violence peaked in regions including Ilam, Lorestan, and Isfahan. Security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, fired on crowds, resulting in multiple deaths. Circulating videos from Ilam show nighttime streets with flashes consistent with gunfire, running figures, and burning barricades or structures. Another clip captures forces entering a hospital, breaking through areas and detaining people amid chaos. Reports describe protesters in some areas arming themselves and forming local militias, though independent confirmation of widespread base seizures remains limited. One young protester, 22-year-old Saghar Etemadi, died after being shot in the face with pellet rounds.
BREAKING
Armed regime forces carried out a brutal attack on a hospital in Ilam.
They broke down hospital doors, stormed inside, and opened fire on civilians and the injured.What the regime is doing to the people of Iran is a crime against humanity.
Be the voice of the Iranian… pic.twitter.com/QBgWIlByFs— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) January 4, 2026
Regime faces internal pressure
Senior officials have described the situation as placing the Islamic Republic in “survival mode.” A Times of Israel report, citing intelligence sources, states Khamenei has a contingency plan to flee Tehran for Moscow—modeled on Bashar al-Assad’s 2024 escape—if protests overwhelm security forces or defections occur. The plan involves a small circle, with assets pre-positioned abroad. Khamenei publicly vowed not to yield, while President Masoud Pezeshkian called for a restrained response to avoid further escalation.
According to an intelligence report seen by The Times, Iranian Supreme-Leader Ali Khamenei plans to flee Tehran with a close circle of up to twenty aides and family, if military and security forces called on to quell the ongoing civil unrest begin deserting, defecting, or failing… pic.twitter.com/qFPVb1d1Fd
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) January 5, 2026
Global attention focuses on potential instability
Online support for the protesters has grown rapidly among Iranian diaspora communities, monarchists, and anti-regime voices. Many express hope for systemic change or the restoration of a pre-1979 government. Pro-Israel accounts and geopolitical observers highlight the regime’s vulnerability, with some noting U.S. President Donald Trump’s warnings against harming peaceful demonstrators. No major international intervention has materialized, but the unrest has drawn condemnation of the crackdown and calls to amplify Iranian voices.
(With agency input)