Name: Iran protesters killed: BBC Learning English from the News
Uploaded: 2026-01-14T17:27:01.000Z
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This is Learning English from the News, our podcast about the news headlines.

In this programme, more than 2,400 reported killed after crackdown on protests in Iran.

In this program, we look at one big news story and the vocabulary in the headlines that will help you understand it.

You can find all the vocabulary and headlines from this episode as well as a worksheet on our website bbclearningenglish.com.

More than 2,400 people are reported to have been killed after a crackdown on anti-government protests in Iran, according to a US-backed rights group.

Crackdown means dealing with a situation in a more severe or harsh way.

People have been protesting for weeks about rising prices and government policies in response to the crackdown.

US President Donald Trump says countries doing business with Iran will face a 25% tariff on trade with the US.

Trump has also been considering other actions against the Iranian government, telling Iranian protesters help is on the way.

Lets have our first headline about the reported deaths in Iran.

Sky hears harrowing details of the killing of a teenage Iranian protester.

And that headline again from Sky News, a British broadcaster.

This headline is about one of the protesters reported to have been killed.

It's an adjective and it means extremely upsetting.

Yes, the headline says the details about the death of the protester are harrowing.

We often see harrowing used to describe news stories and situations where there's a lot of suffering.

It's usually used to describe the most extreme stories where people have been hurt or killed

and where there are details that will likely upset people.

Yes, and we can use it to describe books and films too.

We can say that a story is harrowing, which is very upsetting and contains lots of suffering.

We've had harrowing, extremely upsetting.

For example, this book tells the harrowing story of one woman's suffering during the civil war.

Today, we're talking about anti-government protests in Iran.

The protests in Iran against the government have been going on for weeks.

They began at the end of December when shopkeepers started protesting in Tehran about the fall of the value of the rial, the Iranian currency,

which has led to huge price rises for everyday items in Iran.

University students then join the protests which have spread to Other cities.

Crowds have been heard chanting slogans against Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A range of weapons such as water cannons and live ammunition have reportedly been used against protesters by government forces.

Also, the Internet in the country has been switched off,

making it difficult for journalists to report on the protests.

This is from ITV News, a British broadcaster.

'Thirsty for freedom': What do we know about the protesters killed in Iran?

That headline again from ITV News, a British broadcaster.

This is another headline about some of the people reported to have been killed in the protests.

And the headline describes the protesters as thirsty for freedom.

Now, you'll know that thirsty literally means that you need to have a drink.

Yes, but we can also use thirsty metaphorically to say that someone desperately needs or wants something.

It's impossible to survive without water.

When we use thirsty metaphorically, it's usually quite a dramatic situation,

For example, in the headline, the protesters are thirsty for freedom.

They desperately want freedom from the Iranian government policies.

We can be thirsty for something such as change or progress.

We can also say we're hungry for something, which means the same thing.

We've had thirsty for - need desperately.

For example, campaigners are thirsty for action to tackle climate change.

This is learning English from the News from BBC Learning English.

We're talking about anti-government protests in Iran,

where many people are reported to have been killed and thousands more arrested.

Following the government crackdown on the protests,

US President Donald Trump has announced 25% tariffs on any countries doing business with Iran.

He's also said the US will take very strong action if Iran executes protesters that have been arrested.

Iran's government has responded by accusing the US of trying to manufacture a pretext for military intervention,

which means they're saying that the US is creating an excuse to attack Iran.

Our next headline is about the US response to the situation in Iran.

This is from Reuters, an international news agency.

Trump weighs response to Iran crackdown, Tehran says communication open with US.

That headline again from Reuters, an international news agency.

This headline is from Tuesday, when Trump was considering how to respond to the killings in Iran.

We're interested in this phrase, weighs response.

Well, we know to weigh literally is to find out how heavy something is,

If you weigh your response to something, you think about it carefully and consider all the options.

So in this story, Trump weighs his response to the Iranian government crackdown on protesters.

He's considering different options, such as military action, before deciding how to respond.

We often see weigh used as a verb in this way in stories where there are lots of different options or choices to be made.

And we can use it in everyday life as well.

For example, I'm currently weighing whether to move house or not.

We can also say someone is "weighing up" different options or responses, and it means the same thing.

We've had weigh - think carefully about something and different possibilities before acting.

For example, the CEO is weighing his response to corruption allegations.

That's it for this episode of Learning English on the News.

We'll be back next week with another news story.

In the meantime, head to our website, bbclearningenglish.com for more programs to improve your English.

Try the Listening Room to learn from BBC Radio news stories.