The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim Regime crackdown: Life inside Iran
Jan 28, 2026
A look at nationwide protests in Iran, the internet blackout and rising casualty estimates. Firsthand voice notes describe fear, hospital chaos and life under heavy surveillance. Analysis of Iran’s information control and regional military tensions. A breakdown of Trump’s new Board of Peace and debates over its ability to rival the UN. Discussion of U.S. unrest after fatal immigration enforcement actions.
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Scale And Severity Of Iran Crackdown
- The Iran protests have become the biggest challenge to the regime since 1979 with massive casualties and an internet blackout.
- Human rights groups and activists estimate deaths far higher than official admissions, suggesting widespread, brutal repression.
Firsthand Account Of Mass Killings
- A voice note from inside Iran describes trucks of body bags, hospitals overflowing, and nighttime chants counting the living.
- The speaker pleads for international help and recounts attackers in plain clothes executing injured people and seizing bodies.
Internet As A Weapon Of Control
- The partial internet reopening appears designed to spread fear while preventing organized resistance.
- The regime uses information control as a tool to demoralize citizens and shape narratives about the crackdown.