ITU: Satement by the Iranian Teachers’ Union (Tehran) Condemning the Killing and Brutal Repression of Protesters

After forty-seven years of living under an inefficient, corrupt, and violent system of governance, the people of Iran—still reeling from deep collective trauma—have once again taken to the streets to reclaim their fundamental rights to life and human dignity. As in the past, the state’s response has been bullets, repression, and unrestrained cruelty.

Nearly half a century into its rule, the Islamic Republic remains incapable of meaningful dialogue with its people. Its only tools are hollow slogans and propaganda. Once again, the authorities attempt to conceal the shame of these crimes through familiar narratives of “foreign interference”—a worn-out and failed tactic used since the 1980s. These claims no longer convince even the regime’s remaining supporters.

In less than a single week, one of the bloodiest episodes of repression in Iran’s contemporary history has unfolded. Thousands of women, men, and children have been killed, and many thousands more have been arrested and are now being held in security detention centers and prisons under inhumane conditions.

According to documented reports from human rights organizations and field monitoring by teachers’ unions, more than 150 children and adolescents under the age of 18 have been killed in the name of preserving power. In addition, more than ten honorable teachers have lost their lives as a result of the systematic violence carried out by security and military forces during these protests.

We, the Iranian Teachers’ Union (Tehran), extend our deepest condolences to the grieving people of Iran. We unequivocally declare our full solidarity with the people’s demands for justice and freedom. We consider it our moral and civic responsibility to stand with society in the struggle for democracy, human rights, and social justice.

As a civil and trade union organization, we put forward the following demands:

1. The government must cease its campaign of lies, accept responsibility for these mass killings, and immediately end the militarization of educational spaces.

2. All detainees—especially abducted and imprisoned students and teachers—must be released immediately and unconditionally.

3. We call upon global civil society, labor unions, and trade union activists worldwide to stand in solidarity with the Iranian people, condemn this naked barbarity, and amplify the voices of Iran’s oppressed population.

11 Bahman 1404 / January 31, 2026

Iranian Teachers’ Union (Tehran)