{"id":250560,"date":"2026-01-18T03:45:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/250560\/"},"modified":"2026-01-18T03:45:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-18T03:45:08","slug":"they-are-killing-in-silence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/250560\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They are killing in silence\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

During a break in traffic on Mount Merrion Avenue in Dublin on Saturday afternoon, an Iranian man passed a Garda car parked in front of the Iranian<\/a> embassy before grabbing hold of the railings with both hands.<\/p>\n

He shouted towards the building before being quickly directed by a garda to return to the other side of the road, where about 100 people chanted for the expulsion of Iranian diplomats.<\/p>\n

Some demonstrators wore face coverings and sunglasses, explaining that they feared for the lives of their family members and friends \u201cheld hostage\u201d in Iran should they be seen protesting or speaking out.<\/p>\n

Placards made from sheets of paper and torn cardboard read, \u201cThey are killing in silence\u201d.<\/p>\n

Since anti-government protests<\/a> began in Iran in late December, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency says it has confirmed 3,090 deaths, with 3,882 further cases still under review.<\/p>\n

Others held photos of Reza Pahlavi<\/a>, the exiled son of the last shah of Iran, who recently called on Iranians to continue their mass protests until the regime falls.<\/p>\n

\"ProtestersProtesters gather outside the Iranian Embassy in Blackrock. Photograph: Natalia Campos <\/p>\n

[\u00a0Iranian leader acknowledges \u2018thousands\u2019 killedOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Another protester held an image of Pahlavi next to US president Donald Trump, along with the words, \u201cTwo leaders, one movement\u201d. He used the placard to shield his face as someone photographed him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are afraid our families, relatives and loved ones will be killed,\u201d said Niloofar, a woman in her 30s originally from the Iranian city of Shiraz.<\/p>\n

Removing her face covering briefly, Niloofar, who lives and works in Dublin, said her parents and siblings remain in Shiraz, which is in the southwest of the country. <\/p>\n

She spoke to her family members \u201cjust once for one minute\u201d after spending nine days believing they may have been killed following an internet blackout. The internet outage was imposed on January 8th.<\/p>\n

Protesters gather outside the Iranian Embassy in Dublin, 17 January 2026, demonstrating in response to current political events in Iran. Video: Natalia Campos <\/p>\n

During that quick phone call, they said they were \u201cfine\u201d and not to worry, though she believes they \u201ccouldn\u2019t say anything\u201d over fears their phone might be \u201ctapped\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey monitor everything,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Recalling how she felt during those nine days, when she feared the worst for her family in Iran, Niloofar said: \u201cI was like a crazy person. I\u2019ve never seen myself like that before \u2013 it was terrifying.”<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Iranians in Ireland fear for safety of loved onesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\"DemonstratorsDemonstrators gathered outside the Iranian Embassy in Blackrock, Dublin, calling for the expulsion of Iranian diplomats. Photograph: Natalia Campos <\/p>\n

Breaking into tears, she added: \u201cI don\u2019t understand this silence from all the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pahlavi is \u201cthe one we truly trust\u201d, she explained. She is hopeful that US president Donald Trump, who recently called on Iranians to keep protesting, will intervene.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump promised he would do something<\/a> for us. We still have hope in his words. We can\u2019t do anything with bare hands in Iran. The outside should come and help us,\u201d she said. Niloofar described Trump as \u201cour last hope\u201d.<\/p>\n

Also in the crowd was Roza, one of the protest organisers, who has lived in Dublin for more than a decade.<\/p>\n

Protesters gather outside the Iranian Embassy in Dublin, 17 January 2026, demonstrating in response to current political events in Iran. Video: Natalia Campos <\/p>\n

The 34-year-old is originally from Tehran. She has messages from three of her friends, who last wrote to her on January 8th.<\/p>\n

In the messages, they told her they were intending to protest that night in Tehran. They asked Roza to pray for them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a nightmare, I can\u2019t sleep properly,\u201d she said, not knowing her friends\u2019 current circumstances.<\/p>\n

Paria, a woman in her 40s from Tehran, briefly paused to stop herself from crying before she spoke.<\/p>\n

Her entire family lives in Tehran and she spent several days believing they were dead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was going mental until my dad called me,\u201d she said. As she spoke, the crowd behind her chanted, \u201cDown with Khamenei\u201d, in a reference to Iran\u2019s supreme leader.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone I know, they don\u2019t want this regime,\u201d said Paria, describing loved ones and friends living \u201cdouble lives\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you go out of the home, you act like the government wants [you to act],\u201d she added, before recalling an early memory of her father warning her not to tell others that they played chess together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe learned to survive but kept our faith.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During a break in traffic on Mount Merrion Avenue in Dublin on Saturday afternoon, an Iranian man passed…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":250561,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,11829,115950,60,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-250560","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-iran","10":"tag-iran-protests","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=250560"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/250560\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/250561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=250560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=250560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=250560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}