[Rudaw] Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf on Wednesday cited “serious and urgent measures” to improve the needs of law enforcement personnel and prioritize Tehran’s "economic resilience" amid fears of brewing nationwide unrest it attributes to US instigation.
Iran’s Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) played a major role in the crackdown on activists, members of civil society, and demonstrators during the early January 2026 nationwide protests and “Woman Life Freedom” movement of 2022, in which human rights groups documented thousands of protestors killed by Iranian security forces.
Speaking at a meeting with the commander and members of FARAJA, Ghalibaf said the United States was exploiting economic gateways and "disrupting internal security" in the face of Iran’s military deterrents, according to Iranian outlet Entekhab.
Ghalibaf affirmed Tehran’s “main priority … to try to improve economic resilience and ensure internal security,” calling for “serious and urgent measures to meet the needs of FARAJA personnel in various infrastructural, economic, and livelihood areas,” following US “pressure on the economic sphere.”
Nationwide protests in Iran began in late December 2025 and escalated through January 2026, initially triggered by worsening economic conditions and a sharp devaluation of Iran's currency before turning into broader calls for political change.
Iranian security forces, including FARAJA, were deployed to the streets and responded with lethal weapons, killing at least 3,356 protesters and bystanders on January 8 and 9 alone, according to a recent report by Iran Human Rights (IHR). Estimates of the death toll vary widely, ranging from 15,000 according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which has verified at least 7,000 cases, to 52,000 according to US President Donald Trump.
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