Iran Under Siege: A U.S. Attack Could Happen Within the Next 24 Hours

2,600 dead. And the death toll keeps rising.

An Iranian official said more than 2,000 people have died. A human rights group has put the figure at more than 2,600. HRANA, a U.S.-based group, has verified 2,403 protesters and 147 people affiliated with the government. Lives. Faces. Families. Names. Stories. More than 2,600 stories that have come to an end. In violence. In blood. In horror.

The protests began two weeks ago. Protests against dire economic conditions. Against a collapsing currency. Against a life that’s becoming impossible. Then things changed. Things turned chaotic. Things turned violent. Iranians and their Western enemies describe the unrest as the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For 47 years. Nearly half a century. Iran has never seen anything like this.

18,137 arrests

HRANA has reported 18,137 arrests so far. Eighteen thousand one hundred thirty-seven. Men. Women. Children. Fathers. Mothers. Sons. Daughters. People like you. Like me. Like Erfan. Who is waiting in his cell in Karaj. Who is waiting for execution. Who is waiting for God knows what.

Iran’s chief justice visited a prison in Tehran where arrested protesters are being held. He said that speed in the trial and punishment of those “who beheaded or burned people” was critical to ensuring that such events do not happen again. Speed. Punishment. Death. Faster. Harsher. Bloodier.

I close my eyes. I try to imagine. I try to see. Eighteen thousand one hundred thirty-seven faces. Each with a story. Each with a family. Each with dreams. Someone is waiting for their father to come home. Someone is waiting for their mother to return. Someone is waiting for their son to be released. They’re waiting. They’re praying. They’re hoping. And meanwhile, the world is about to come crashing down. Within the next 24 hours. How do you do that? How do you crush so many lives all at once? How do you look at those faces and launch missiles? How?

Iran Warns Its Neighbors

The Iranian official said something that sends a chill down the spine. He said that Tehran had told regional countries “that U.S. bases in those countries will be attacked” if the United States targets Iran. Saudi Arabia. The UAE. Turkey. Qatar. Bahrain. All these countries that host U.S. bases. All these countries that are about to become targets. Because Washington decides to strike Iran. Because Trump decides to “save” the protesters by killing them.

The United States has forces throughout the region. The forward headquarters of its Central Command in Al Udeid, Qatar. The headquarters of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. Bases. Airplanes. Missiles. Soldiers. Targets. If Iran is struck, these bases will be struck. In return. In retaliation. As part of the escalation.

The Blackout of Darkness

The flow of information from inside Iran has been cut off by an internet blackout. No images. No videos. No live news. Only photos released by state media. Mass funerals for those killed in the unrest. People waving flags. Photos of the Supreme Leader. Anti-riot slogans. Lives under control. Lives directed. Lives crushed.

The authorities are trying to project an image showing that they still have public support. But the images lie. The reality lies elsewhere. In the streets. In the prisons. In people’s homes. In people’s hearts.

Imagine this. You live in Tehran. You wake up this morning. The internet is down. No connection to the outside world. You hear rumors. Protesters have died. Thousands have been arrested. You’re afraid. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Then you hear something else. The United States is going to attack. Within the next 24 hours. Your home could be destroyed. Your family could be killed. And there’s nothing you can do. Nothing. No escape. No hope. Just waiting. Just terror.

Erfan Soltani, 26

Erfan Soltani is 26 years old. He lives in the city of Karaj, near Tehran. He was arrested in connection with the protests. Hengaw reported on Wednesday that he was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. Wednesday has arrived. Hengaw has not been able to confirm whether the sentence has been carried out. Erfan waits. In his cell. In the darkness. In uncertainty.

Who was Erfan? What does he love? What does he hate? Who are his parents? Who are his friends? What were his dreams? I don’t know. No one knows. He’s just a number. Just a statistic. Just “26 years old.” Just “executed.” Just “dead.” But Erfan was a person. Erfan had a life. Erfan had a soul.

Photographs of Despair

Reuters published photographs. Damaged cars in front of burning buildings. In Rasht. In Isfahan. In other cities. Scenes of destruction. Scenes of desolation. Nightmarish scenes.

A car. Alone. Damaged. In front of a burning building. Rasht. January 9, 2026. An image that says it all. An image that brings a lump to your throat. An image that breaks your heart. An image that will stay with you.

Look at this photo. Really. Look at it. A car. Alone. Damaged. In front of a burning building. In Rasht. Imagine. It might have been someone’s car. Someone on their way to work. Someone on their way to buy bread. Someone on their way to pick up their children. Then, the violence struck. The flames came. Destruction struck. And now, that car is there. Alone. Damaged. A silent witness to the horror. A silent testament to the pain. How do we go on after that? How do we look at an image like this and keep on living?

President Masoud Pezeshkian Speaks

President Masoud Pezeshkian said something. He said at a cabinet meeting that as long as the government has popular support, “all the enemies’ efforts against the country will come to nothing.” Popular support. What? 18,137 arrests? More than 2,600 deaths? Is that popular support? Is that what you call support?

Pezeshkian is an elected official. His power is subordinate to that of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. He speaks because he has to speak. He says what he has to say. But the words ring hollow. The lies ring false. The reality is quite different.

Ali Larijani Contacts Qatar

State media reported that the head of Iran’s main security agency, Ali Larijani, had spoken with Qatar’s foreign minister. Araqchi had spoken with his Emirati and Turkish counterparts. Araqchi told the Emirati foreign minister that “calm has prevailed.” Calm has prevailed.

More than 2,600 dead. 18,137 arrests. Cities in flames. Prisoners executed. Iran warning its neighbors that it will strike U.S. bases. The United States withdrawing personnel from its bases. European officials saying that intervention could come within the next 24 hours.

Calm has prevailed.

I want to laugh. I want to cry. I want to scream. “Calm has prevailed.” As if nothing were happening. As if no one were dying. As if the world weren’t on the verge of collapsing. These people. These leaders. These officials. They live in another universe. They speak another language. They see another reality. While thousands of people are dying, they say, “Calm has prevailed.” While millions of people are living in fear, they say, “Calm has prevailed.” While the world is about to go up in flames, they say, “Calm has prevailed.” How can anyone be so blind? How can anyone be so deaf? How can anyone be so inhuman?

The 1979 Islamic Revolution

Iranians and their Western enemies describe the unrest as the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. For 47 years. Half a century. An eternity.

In 1979, the world changed. Iran became an Islamic republic. America lost an ally. The Middle East was transformed. And now, the world is on the verge of changing again. Once more. By force. By violence. By war.

The government’s prestige has been severely damaged

The government’s prestige was severely damaged last year by a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign in June. Joined by the United States. This was followed by setbacks for Iran’s regional allies in Lebanon and Syria. European countries triggered the reinstatement of UN sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program. Exacerbating an economic crisis.

Iran is wounded. Iran is weakened. Iran is vulnerable. And now, the United States is going to strike—within the next 24 hours.

I think of 1979. I think of what has changed. I think of what happened. And then I think of now. I think of 2026. I think of what will change. I think of what will happen. History repeats itself. History worsens. History flares up. And I ask: When will this stop? When will the cycle be broken? When will humanity learn? When? Forty-seven years ago, Iran changed the world. In the next 24 hours, Iran could change the world again. But in what way? In which direction? Toward the light? Or toward darkness?

Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi Speaks

Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi said something on Wednesday. He said that Iran “had never faced this scale of destruction.” Blaming foreign enemies. This scale of destruction. This scale of death. This scale of pain. This scale of nightmare.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot described “the most violent repression in Iran’s contemporary history.” The most violent. Ever. In contemporary history. Which means since 1979. Which means 47 years. Which means since time immemorial.

The security apparatus remains in control

A Western official said something strange. He said that “it did not appear that the government was facing an imminent collapse, and its security apparatus was still in control.” In control. Despite the deaths. Despite the arrests. Despite the protests. Despite the destruction. The government is in control.

But is this real control? Isn’t it terror? Isn’t it fear? Isn’t it oppression? When you kill 2,600 people, when you arrest 18,137 people, when you execute protesters—is that control? Or is it a massacre?

And now, the justification is coming. Within the next 24 hours. The United States will strike. Iran will respond. U.S. bases will be attacked. Regions will burn. Lives will be destroyed. Thousands. Tens of thousands. Hundreds of thousands. Perhaps millions. And why? Because Trump decided so. Because Trump threatened. Because Trump wants to “save” the protesters by killing them. It makes no sense. It makes no logical sense. It shows no humanity. It’s just madness. Just death. Just the apocalypse.

Diplomats Speak Out

Three diplomats said that some staff members had been ordered to leave the base. Although there were no immediate signs of large numbers of soldiers being bussed out to a soccer stadium and shopping mall, as had happened hours before an Iranian missile strike last year. Not yet. Not yet. But soon. Within the next 24 hours.

The Western official said that unrest on such a scale had taken the authorities by surprise at a vulnerable moment. But the government did not appear to be facing an imminent collapse. Its security apparatus was still in control.

Iranian protesters are waiting

Iranian protesters are waiting. They’re waiting for the U.S. attack. They’re waiting for “help is on the way.” They’re waiting for freedom. They’re waiting for the end of the regime. They’re waiting for God knows what.

But in the next 24 hours, that help won’t be freedom. That help won’t be liberation. That help will be death. Destruction. A nightmare. The protesters are waiting for a savior. They’re going to get an executioner.

And now, I’m thinking of them. Of all those protesters. Of all those Iranians. Of all those people who want freedom. Who want justice. Who want a better life. They’re waiting for help. They’re waiting for the United States. They’re waiting for Trump. They think someone is going to come and save them. But in the next 24 hours, they’re going to learn the truth. No one is coming to save them. No one is coming to free them. No one is coming to help them. Only the nightmare is coming. Only hell is coming. Only the apocalypse is coming.

The Next 24 Hours

In the next 24 hours. That’s what two European officials are saying. That’s what an Israeli official is saying. U.S. military intervention in Iran could happen. In a day. In a night. In a few hours. Erfan Soltani, 26, waits in his cell in Karaj. He’s waiting for his execution. He’s waiting for war. He’s waiting for the abyss.

18,137 arrests. More than 2,600 dead. Cities in flames. U.S. bases on high alert. Iranian threats. Regional warnings. The world on the brink of disaster.

And I think of all those lives. All those faces. All those souls. 18,137 arrests. More than 2,600 dead. Erfan Soltani, 26, awaiting execution. Millions of Iranians awaiting the attack. Awaiting help. Waiting for freedom. Waiting for the nightmare. In the next 24 hours, the world will change. In the next 24 hours, thousands of people will die. In the next 24 hours, the apocalypse will arrive. And when the sun rises after those 24 hours—if the sun rises—how many lives will have been extinguished? How many families will have been destroyed? How many dreams will have been shattered? And above all: who will answer these questions? Who will take responsibility? Who will explain why? Why? Why?