Name: What will happen in Iran now that protests have died down? | DW News
Uploaded: 2026-01-17T13:42:52.000Z
Duration: 8 min 14 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

We're now getting a clearer sense of what's been happening in Iran since widespread protests began there.

Based group Human rights activists in Iran says it has confirmed that over 3,000 people have been killed during the first 20 days of nationwide demonstrations against the regime.

Over 2,000 more have been seriously injured and the number of protesters arrested have has risen to over 22,000.

Though a government crackdown has quelled the demonstration in recent days, around the world, people have taken to the streets in solidarity with the protesters.

Meanwhile, Iranians living here in Germany remain very concerned about the well being of their loved ones.

This mullah regime is no longer legitimate.

Like many Iranians around the world, ATI is following developments in Iran with hope.

It's like a part of me is burning, it's on fire, it's being murdered and I can't do anything but watch.

ATI is struggling to stay up to date due to the regime's communications blackout.

It's been days since she's heard from her friends and relatives in Iran.

It goes beep beep beep and then there's no connection.

There are now even armed soldiers on the streets of Tehran.

Cologne based chemist Mojdin Nourzad fled political persecution in Iran more than 40 years ago in the early days of the mullah's regime.

She too is horrified by what's happening at home.

When I see the young people, the brave people on the streets, of course I worry deeply for them.

These are days of despair for Iranians around the world, but also of hope.

The last communication I received from my best friend who was getting ready to head out onto the street and messaged me before he left, said ATI, we can do it.

And for more, we're now joined by Fawaz Girges, a professor for international relations at the London School of Economics and an expert on the Middle East.

The number bears repeating if you believe what the U.

S. Based human rights activists in Iran are saying.

I mean it's one of the bloodiest confrontations between the government and the anti government protesters.

Also, we need to remind our viewers more than 100 security officers were killed.

So this was really a very, very bloody confrontation.

And all the reports that we have coming out from Iran is that the Security forces are fully deployed not only in Tehran, but

So yes, it's very bloody, it's very sad, very tragic.

And it seems to me that the situation continues to basically be extremely, extremely dangerous for anti government protesters.

According to media reports, the protests in Tehran have now died down.

Does this mean the regime has successfully stopped dissent?

Well, I think all the evidence that we have shows that the protesters have either receded or stopped since Monday because of the clampdown by the authorities.

And your numbers, I mean, the 3,000 anti protesters killed tell you a great deal about the brutality of the suppression of the protesters.

But my take on it is that the crisis has been postponed as opposed to really being structurally resolved because the protesters key demands, which is really to improve basic living standards and less government intervention in their lives, have not been addressed.

And I doubted very much whether the Iranian government has the means to basically address the economic and social grievances of the protesters because of the sanctions.

The American and European sanctions have broken the backbone of the Iranian economies and of course, systemic corruption and mismanagement on the part of the Iranian authorities as well.

The US Is deploying an aircraft carrier to the region.

At the same time, President Donald Trump has seemingly backed down from his threats to strike Iran.

Well, you're asking a very difficult question because President Trump is very unpredictable.

He says one thing and that's another thing.

That's what he said in June, last June, when he said Iran has two weeks to respond to his demands.

And then 24 hours later, he carried out a devastating attack against Iranians and Iranian nuclear facilities.

My take on it is that the Americans are deploying more forces, more naval assets to the region.

They are positioning themselves and they're using the threat of attacks against Iran as leverage against the regime.

But at the end of the day, the Americans have limited options.

There is no alternative in Iran to really replace the government at this particular stage because the regime is deeply entrenched.

And at the end of the day, again, America's regional allies, particularly the Arab states, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Egypt, have basically impressed on President Trump the need not to really trigger another major crisis that could have really spill over effects into the entire region, not just between the United States and Iran.

Iran has been seen by many of its neighbors as one of the primary threats to security in the Middle East.

What impact do you think the unrest in Iran will have on the stability of the region?

Let me give your viewers a bit of context.

Even though most of Iran's Arab allies really don't care for the Islamic Republic in Iran, I think the situation that has been a rapprochement between Iran and its regional allies in the past few years and the Arab state, particularly Saudi Arabia and Qatar and Oman and Kuwait, they're very concerned that any kind of instability or civil war or even a major clash between the United States and Iran could have spillover effects into their own countries, could really divert their domestic agenda, which is really based on economic diversification and stability.

And also for the Iranian regimes to be toppled by social protest could send the wrong signal to other states in the region.

And that's why they have been impressing on President Trump the need not to escalate.

But at the end of the day, President Trump does not listen to anyone else.

Probably the most powerful and influential person who influences President Trump is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

And Benjamin Netanyahu wants the United States to carry out a major attack, and

they want both Trump and Netanyahu regime change in Tehran.

That is Faris Gagas, a professor for international relations at the London School of Economics and an expert on the Middle East.