Rapper Meraj Tehrani witnessed what he calls a road bloodbath throughout current protests that killed 1000’s throughout Iran.

The UK-based artist returned to Tehran on enterprise in early January 2026 when demonstrations erupted nationwide. Tehrani advised Sky News he noticed thousands and thousands of individuals unite for the primary time in Iranian historical past. The protests began over financial issues however shortly changed into calls for for regime change.

Revolutionary Guards responded with lethal drive that shocked even seasoned protesters.

“At first I think the government didn’t believe that so many people would come out, they were surprised,” Tehrani defined. Internet shutdowns adopted instantly as authorities tried to regulate data stream.

The rapper described Friday night, January 9, because the turning level when mass killings started in Iran.

Revolutionary Guards introduced machine weapons and began taking pictures protesters at random. Bodies had been left on the streets as warnings to others contemplating becoming a member of demonstrations.

“That’s when everything got serious,” Tehrani said about the Revolutionary Guard deployment. “It became a massacre on the streets.”

Tehrani believes international forces, together with Iraqi militia and Popular Mobilization Forces, helped Iranian authorities crush protests. These fighters knew tips on how to kill effectively by concentrating on the top and chest. The guards doing the killing seemed completely different from regular Iranian safety forces.

“One person’s life matters in any nation, and thousands of people have been killed in a very aggressive way,” he acknowledged.

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei admitted Saturday that “several thousand people” died throughout protests. US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency verified 3,090 deaths, together with 2,885 protesters. The loss of life toll continues rising as authorities preserve their crackdown.

Tehrani’s expertise displays the harmful actuality going through Iranian artists who communicate out in opposition to the regime. Multiple rappers have confronted loss of life sentences for supporting protests since 2022.

Toomaj Salehi acquired a loss of life sentence in April 2024 for “corruption on Earth” earlier than Iran’s Supreme Court overturned it in June. The metalworker-turned-rapper spent over 250 days in solitary confinement for his protest songs.

Saman Yasin confronted comparable fees and potential execution for his music supporting the Women, Life, Freedom motion.

Grammy winner Shervin Hajipour acquired a sentence of three years and eight months in jail for his anthem “Baraye,” which grew to become the protest motion’s soundtrack.

Rapper Vafadar was not too long ago launched from Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison in January 2025 after serving time for protest-related fees. Mehdi Yarrahi additionally confronted persecution for his music supporting demonstrators.

These cases show how Iran systematically targets artists who challenge authority through their music. Rappers face torture, pressured confessions, and loss of life sentences for expressing dissent by means of their artwork.

Tehrani acquired threatening messages on social media and is aware of he can’t return to Iran safely.

“If I go back, they will catch me and hang me,” he admitted.

The rapper criticized worldwide silence, asking the place European Union leaders and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer stand.

Tehrani escaped Iran by means of Turkey and now lives within the UK, the place he continues his music profession. His current albums embody Gange Mojaz, SABZ, Sharaf, and CHANGI,Z accessible on streaming platforms.

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