Immediate Activation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) in Iran
To: The United Nations Security Council and the International Community
From: The undersigned, representing the Iranian people voice and global advocates for human rights.
I. Declaration of Manifest Failure to Protect
We urgently call upon the UN Security Council to uphold its commitment to the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine. The Islamic Republic of Iran has not only failed to protect its population but has transitioned into the primary perpetrator of Crimes Against Humanity and acts tantamount to Genocide. The state is engaged in a systematic campaign to destroy the Iranian nation and its future generations. The Islamic Republic operates not as a legitimate government, but as a criminal regime that has held the Iranian people hostage for nearly five decades. Following the January 8th massacre, the regime has effectively transformed the entire nation into a vast concentration camp.

The Case for R2P Activation: The threshold for R2P intervention has been crossed as presented below. The state is not merely repressing dissent; it is engaged in a campaign of extermination against its own citizens. The regime is treating its citizens not as people to be governed, but as enemy combatants to be liquidated.
II. The Scale of the Catastrophe: A Campaign of Extermination
Before addressing the legal criteria for intervention, the world must understand the sheer scale of the slaughter currently unfolding. This is not "crowd control"; it is a war of annihilation against the Iranian people.
Mass Casualties & "Blinding the Enemy": While state TV admits to over 23,000 people massacred with morgues overwhelmed (report), independent reports (Sunday Times) estimate 16,500+ killed and 330,000+ injured and 56,000 detained. Over 8,000 individuals have lost their eyes to birdshot. Video Evidence: sustained automatic gunfire by security forces in Tehranpars, Tehran (January 9, 2026).
A Second Massacre by Judicial Unfolding: With jails overflowing, the regime has initiated swift, secret executions. Detainees—often youth—are coerced into false confessions and hanged immediately without trial under the charge of Moharebeh ("War with God"). The judiciary has ordered that these cases "must not be delayed" signaling a mass liquidation of prisoners behind closed doors to hide the true death toll (report), (211 hanging in the past 3 weeks, 1 execution every 2 hours link).
"Shot to Kill" Policy (Genocidal Intent): In a clear display of intent to destroy life, security forces have blocked access to blood banks. When hospital staff requested urgent blood for the wounded, they were told: "We’ve shot to kill. What do they need blood for?" Hospitals are under siege and blood banks are seized.
Systematic Sexual Violence & Torture: Rights groups (The Guardian's report) confirm that teenagers, including a 16-year-old in Kermanshah, have been sexually assaulted during arrest. Following reports of the regime's violent treatment of detained protesters, messages received by Iran International indicate the use of torture and injection of unidentified syringes into prisoners.
Dehumanization at Checkpoints: Reminiscent of the darkest eras of the 20th century, security forces have established "Stop Stations" on roads, forcing citizens to undress to check for bullet wounds or signs of protest participation—treating injuries as crimes rather than medical emergencies.
III. Pillar I: Evidence of War Crimes and Military Aggression The threshold for intervention has been crossed through the regime's deployment of battlefield tactics against civilians.
Deployment of Battlefield Weaponry: Security forces are using heavy military hardware, including armored vehicles with mounted turrets and 40mm grenade-launcher machine guns, against defenseless pedestrians (Please see images attached) (Video showing regime forces killing a protester with a machete in the street. Video of shooting at protesters.)
Terror Policing: HRANA reports verify that militias are patrolling cities in heavy trucks, firing randomly into streets to induce terror and "uproot" any resistance (video).
Foreign Proxy Occupation: Signaling a total loss of legitimacy, the regime has imported nearly 5,000 foreign fighters from Iraqi militias (Kataib Hezbollah, Badr Organization) and Afghan Fatemiyoun divisions to slaughter Iranians, as domestic soldiers refuse to fire.
Execution of Conscientious Soldiers: The regime has begun issuing death sentences to its own security forces who refuse to kill. Javid Khales, a police officer in Isfahan, was arrested and sentenced to death solely for refusing an order to shoot protesters on January 8, 2026 link.
IV. Pillar II: Violations of Medical Neutrality and Human Dignity
The regime has systematically dismantled the infrastructure of humanitarian and medical care.
Ambulances are intercepted, and the injured are shot dead.
Targeting the Injured: Security forces have raided hospitals to execute wounded protesters in their beds. Verified evidence shows victims in body bags with active medical equipment still attached, proving they were murdered during emergency treatment.
Hunt the Healers: Medical professionals are being abducted and threatened for fulfilling their oaths to treat the wounded, specifically at facilities like Milad Hospital in Isfahan.
State-Sanctioned Extortion: The regime is "monetizing mass murder" by forcing families to pay a "bullet fee" of $1,700–$10,000 USD to only be allowed to search for days within piles of bodies for the bodies of their loved ones.
V. Pillar III: Use of Prohibited Weapons and Information Blackouts
Heavy Weaponry: Photographic evidence confirms the use of military armored vehicles equipped with mounted turrets and 40mm grenade-launcher machine guns in city streets. These are weapons of war designed for battlefields, now aimed at defenseless pedestrians (Footage of Dushka heavy machine guns fired at protesters).
Chemical Warfare: Credible reports indicate the deployment of chemical agents against civilians, violating the 1925 Geneva Protocol (videos & report).
Technological Blockade: The regime is utilizing Russian-made Krasukha-4 electronic warfare systems to jam Starlink satellite signals, creating a total information blackout to hide ongoing massacres.
Home Raids and Confiscations: Security forces, often posing as utility officials, are conducting door-to-door raids to confiscate satellite dishes and private CCTV footage to identify protesters (report). Armed officers have raided private homes to seize Starlink equipment, detaining civilians without warrants and charging them with "spying" merely for accessing the internet (report).
VI. Economic Warfare and Scorched Earth Tactics
The regime has expanded its war to the economic livelihood of its citizens, employing arson and asset seizure as tools of collective punishment for the most civil form of protest: strike.
Confiscation of Assets: The judiciary has begun sealing businesses and seizing assets of owners who joined national strikes.
Arson Attacks (The Rasht Bazaar Atrocity): Security forces deliberately set fire to the historic Rasht Grand Bazaar, destroying 300 shops to punish striking merchants. Access for fire engines was blocked by security forces.
The Rasht Massacre: The arson served as the backdrop for a military slaughter. As the bazaar burned, Navy Marine Commandos—deployed domestically for the first time—opened fire on trapped civilians. "Victory Through Terror": Implementing a doctrine of al-nasr bil-ru‘b ("Victory through Terror"), forces adopted a "shoot to kill" policy, aiming for heads and hearts. Estimates suggest 600 to 3,000 deaths occurred in Rasht alone within 48 hours (3 year old among dead).
VII. The Threat to International Peace and Security The Islamic Republic has forfeited its sovereignty not only by massacring its own people but by operating as a destabilizing global terror syndicate. The regime constitutes an existential threat to international peace:
Sponsorship of Terror: The state actively arms and finances designated terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis, using national resources to fuel conflicts across the region rather than support its starving population.
Global Aggression: The regime has become a direct combatant in Europe by supplying drones for the war in Ukraine, actively attacking European security interests.
Nuclear Extortion: As it races toward nuclear weapons and Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs), the regime holds global security hostage.
VII. Formal Demands for Immediate Action
The time for diplomatic concern has passed; the Iranian people require immediate physical protection. We demand the following:
Invoke Chapter VII of the UN Charter: Authorize "all necessary measures" to protect the Iranian population from state-led extermination.
Establish a No-Fly Zone: Deploy a UN-mandated or NATO-led coalition to prevent the use of helicopters and drones against protesters.
Targeted Neutralization of Military Assets: Conduct strikes on the heavy weaponry and armored vehicles currently being used to "mow down" civilians in city streets.
Bypass the Information Blackout: Immediately deploy satellite internet solutions to restore the Iranian people's ability to document atrocities and communicate with the world.
In conclusion, Silence is not neutrality; it is complicity. Silence has a side! The international community vowed "Never Again" after Rwanda and Srebrenica, we are witnessing a massacre that exceeds the lethality of those historic tragedies. If the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) is not invoked for this systematic, state-sanctioned slaughter—where machine guns mow down unarmed people for chanting freedom and hospitals are killing fields—then what scale of massacre is the world recognizing the responsibility to protect?
Signed,
Iranians in Diaspora
morteza vafaei previous political prisoner
YOU CAN SIGN HERE:
https://c.org/Jf8mmyvfQ4