Several former Iranian leaders and prominent reformists have publicly condemned the killings of protesters this month, calling for independent investigations, a constitutional referendum and major reforms. The government reports 3,117 deaths, while HRANA has verified 6,854 and is probing 11,280 more cases. Hardline lawmakers have responded with arrests, intimidatory rhetoric and threats against critics, escalating political tensions nationwide.
“The Game Is Over”: Former Iranian Leaders Accuse the Establishment After Deadly Protests — Hardliners Respond
Former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in 2013 [File: Frank Franklin II/AP Photo]
Tehran — Several former Iranian leaders, some held in prison or confined under house arrest, have issued forceful condemnations after the deaths of thousands in recent nationwide protests. Their statements have provoked fierce pushback from hardline factions and arrests of activists who amplified the criticism.
Background
The Iranian government says 3,117 people were killed during the anti-establishment protests, most of them on the nights of January 8 and 9. Officials have rejected claims from the United Nations and international human-rights groups that state forces were responsible for the killings. By contrast, the United States–based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) says it has verified 6,854 deaths and is investigating an additional 11,280 cases.
Reactions From Reformists and Former Leaders
Mir Hossein Mousavi, the former reformist presidential candidate who has been under house arrest since 2009, described the events as catastrophic: “After years of ever-escalating repression, this is a catastrophe that will be remembered for decades, if not for centuries. How many ways must people say that they do not want this system and do not believe your lies? Enough. The game is over.” He urged security forces to "put down your guns and step aside" and called for a constitutional referendum and a peaceful democratic transition without foreign intervention.
About 400 activists inside and outside Iran publicly supported Mousavi’s words. Jailed reformist Mostafa Tajzadeh called for an independent fact-finding mission and said meaningful change will require "the resistance, wisdom, and responsible action of all citizens and political actors." Former presidents Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami also urged major reforms and greater public participation, though they stopped short of calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic.
Mehdi Karroubi, whose house arrest was lifted less than a year ago, described the protest killings as "a crime whose dimensions language and pen are incapable of conveying," directly blaming Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and criticizing costly state policies, including the nuclear program and the effects of long-running international sanctions.
Arrests and Signatories
Security forces arrested activists Mehdi Mahmoudian, Abdollah Momeni, and Vida Rabbani last week; state-linked Fars news agency said they were detained for allegedly smuggling out Mousavi’s statement from his house arrest. Mahmoudian is a journalist and activist who is credited as a co-writer of the political drama It Was Just an Accident, which the article reports was Oscar-nominated and won the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Momeni and Rabbani have been detained previously.
Seventeen human-rights defenders, filmmakers and civil-society figures — including Nobel laureate Narges Mohammadi and prominent lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh — co-signed a declaration accusing the supreme leader and theocratic establishment of responsibility for the killings. The statement called the mass shooting of protesters and the denial of medical care "an organised state crime against humanity" and urged a referendum and the formation of a constituent assembly so Iranians can determine their political future.
Hardliner Response
In state-aligned and hardline circles the reaction was markedly different. Lawmakers in parliament donned Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) uniforms, chanted "Death to America," and vowed to seek the expulsion of European military attaches they labelled "terrorists"; the article notes the European Union had recently designated the IRGC a "terrorist" organisation.
Hardline cleric and MP Nasrollah Pejmanfar publicly demanded severe punishment for former president Rouhani, saying "Today is the time for the 'major reform', which is arresting and executing you," while other hardline lawmakers called for more confrontational regional policies rather than talks with the United States.
Outlook
The clash between reformist former leaders and hardline elements underscores a deepening political crisis in Iran, with competing narratives over responsibility for mass deaths, demands for systemic reform or constitutional change, and the threat of further repression against activists and critics.
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