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Leaked documents from the Iranian regime reveal a coordinated plan by its security apparatus, approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to violently suppress nationwide protests using force, surveillance and internet shutdowns.
Excerpts of the documents, reviewed by Fox News Digital, show that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council developed the strategy after the 2019 nationwide protests that came amid fuel price hikes and economic collapse.
At a National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) press briefing Tuesday covering the regime’s pre-planned orders behind the protests and mass killings, Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the Washington office, said the documents “were obtained from within the regime” and later cited The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK) as having gained access to them.
“This Directive by the National Security Council was obtained by the network in Iran of the MEK, which has access to sources within the regime,” he confirmed to Fox News Digital.
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Iranian security forces escalated from pellet guns to live ammunition during protests. (Getty)
“These documents show the regime’s efforts to prevent the resurgence of the uprising and, if it occurred, to suppress it,” Jafarzadeh added before stating that there are “clear operational plans allocated to the IRGC to use lethal force to kill as many people as needed to stay in power.”
The first document, classified “top secret,” was issued Mar. 3, 2021, with the regime codifying four escalating law enforcement and security conditions. The regime defined how unrest would be handled and which authorities would be in command at each stage.
Initial law enforcement and non-armed security situations placed command authority with Iran’s national police force, with support from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry (VAJA).
In the most severe category, designated an “armed security situation,” full command authority rapidly shifted to the IRGC.
“For now, this compilation should be communicated for two years,” Khamenei wrote before ordering the blueprint implemented nationwide.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, approved a detailed plan for protest suppression. (Getty Images)
The secret guidelines became the blueprint for crushing the January 2026 protests, which erupted amid soaring inflation, currency collapse and anger toward clerical rule.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 6,854 people have been killed during the protests, with 11,280 cases under investigation.
Internal regime assessments cited in other leaked files describe three phases of the 2026 uprising: an initial law enforcement phase, followed by a non-armed security phase and finally an armed security situation beginning Jan. 8 when authority shifted fully to the IRGC that played the command role and carried out armed killings.
The documents specify that during armed security situations, the IRGC operated with support from other security bodies, while Iran’s Ministry of Communications was ordered to impose internet restrictions, including full shutdowns.
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At a press briefing, NCRI Deputy Director, Washington office, Alireza Jafarzadeh outlined how Iranian regime documents showed the regime’s crackdown strategy. (National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI))
A second classified document, compiled in 2024 by the IRGC’s Sarallah Headquarters, reveals how far the regime went to prepare for dissent.
The 129-page “Comprehensive Security Plan of Tehran” details extensive surveillance and repression measures, identifying members of the opposition MEK and family members of executed dissidents as “level number one” enemies subject to monitoring and control.
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“It also shows how far the regime is prepared to go to kill as many people as needed, which they did in January 2026. However, these killings further convinced the people that there is only one way to end the killings, and that is to overthrow the regime,” Jafarzadeh added.
“There are more people, especially young ones, who have joined the ranks of the organized force to confront the IRGC and liberate the nation,” he said.