Eyewitness survives to tell about iran’s ‘next-level bravery’ protests

A large crowd marching down a main road in Iran’s second largest city, Mashhad, January 8, 2026

#Iran

Mona Bolouri, a 40-year-old Iranian-Canadian, traveled to Iran in late December to visit family and found herself in the middle of intense protests that erupted in Mashhad on January 8

She describes a stunning scene: a massive crowd completely filled Vekilabad Avenue, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, with people shoulder to shoulder shouting against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and demanding the return of Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s last Shah.

For her, it was the most magnificent thing she had ever seen-the size of the demonstration was so large she couldn’t even reach the front of the procession.

Despite Mashhad being considered a conservative city, Mona initially felt relatively safe.

But that feeling quickly vanished when security forces opened fire with live ammunition and launched massive amounts of tear gas.

The gas was so thick that people became disoriented, lost their sight, and could barely breathe.

She herself needed help from strangers to escape, almost unable to see or move.

What struck her most was the courage of the young protesters.

Even with gunfire echoing around them, they continued advancing without retreating.

Mona, who considers herself a courageous person, said that those young people were on “another level of bravery.” She wondered, “Aren’t they afraid to die””

As night fell, the internet was cut off, completely isolating communications.

The streets changed in appearance: traffic lights and surveillance cameras were removed to hinder the actions of the motorized security forces.

Fireworks burned in locations linked to the regime, such as banks associated with the Revolutionary Guard, in acts she describes as defensive and calculated.

At one point, an ambulance drove against the flow of the crowd-later she discovered it was used to transport security agents.

Mona didn’t witness the deaths with her own eyes, but she saw wounded protesters being carried away while the shooting continued.

Family members recounted that the following night, the violence escalated even further, with incessant gunfire echoing through the neighborhoods and leaving elderly people crying in terror.

Her flight was canceled, and her terrified family insisted she leave as soon as possible.

She managed to catch a domestic flight to Istanbul and returned to Canada just a day before an even more deadly crackdown.

Now, back safe, Mona firmly believes that the Islamic regime’s days are numbered.

“I know it’s over,” she states with conviction.

She notes a clear difference: while abroad the demonstrations are hesitant, inside Iran people were united and determined, without any doubt about what they wanted.

Despite the fear that always prevented her from speaking publicly-for fear of not being able to return to Iran-today she decides to speak out openly, convinced that the current regime will not survive.

For her, the scale of the protests, the explicit calls for regime change, and the willingness to face live gunfire mark a point of no return in the struggle of the Iranian people.

Published in 01/21/2026 05h40

Portuguese version

Text adapted by AI (Grok) and translated via Google API in the English version. Images from public image libraries or credits in the caption.

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