Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad has issued a new urgent letter to global trade unions, federations, and international confederations, warning of an escalating human catastrophe in Iran under conditions of a total internet shutdown and intensifying state violence.

In the letter—follow-up to the Confederation’s 10 January 2026 communication—the Confederation stresses that the scale of killing and repression reported from inside Iran, while difficult to fully verify due to the blackout, points to a “widespread, organised, and deliberate” campaign against protesters. It highlights that the core of the protest movement is made up of workers, wage earners, pensioners, the unemployed, and impoverished communities, driven by an acute livelihood crisis and decades of systematic denial of rights.

The letter also warns of an imminent “second wave” of repression: targeted arrests, fabricated cases, and crackdowns aimed at labour organisers and workplace leaders in key industries and vital service sectors—especially those attempting to build strike capacity during the current uprising. With communications severed, the Confederation notes, many of these activists remain largely unknown to the public and are therefore even more vulnerable.

Calling the ongoing violence a flagrant violation of international human rights and labour obligations, the Confederation urges the global labour movement to respond with immediate, coordinated action. Its key demands include: pressuring governments to sever diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic and close its embassies; seeking the suspension or expulsion of the Islamic Republic from international bodies, particularly the International Labour Organization (ILO); and guaranteeing immediate access for the Iranian public to a free internet and independent communications.

The Confederation underlines that fragmented responses are insufficient and calls especially on unions in Europe to pursue joint initiatives, coordinated statements, and simultaneous pressure on governments—paired with practical collective action at regional and global levels. The letter concludes by urging the global labour movement to stand publicly and decisively with the people and workers of Iran, framing this as a defence of human dignity, social justice, and the core principles of international labour solidarity.

The continuing massacre of the Iranian people, the total internet shutdown, and the urgent need for immediate, united action by the global labour movement

Dear comrades and colleagues,

Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad, following our letter dated 10 January 2026, once again writes to you with a profound sense of responsibility toward the lives, dignity, and rights of the people and working class of Iran. We wish to inform you of the scale of the catastrophe unfolding in our country and to call for immediate, united, and effective action by trade unions worldwide.

Since 7 Dey 1404 (28 December 2025), widespread popular protests have erupted across numerous cities in Iran and have now continued for more than twenty days. These protests, rooted in poverty, runaway inflation, the collapse of livelihoods, and the systematic denial of rights, have been met with an unprecedented campaign of repression—military violence and mass killing on a vast scale.

For over twelve days, the Iranian government has completely cut off the internet across the country. According to the extremely limited and difficult-to-obtain information our Confederation has received from inside Iran:

• People’s access to the internet has been fully blocked.
• International phone calls have been cut, and in the first days, even domestic calls and SMS were disrupted or rendered impossible.
• Cities are effectively under a quasi-military state, with reports of a heavy armed presence throughout urban areas.
• In some regions, the authorities have attacked protesters using heavy military weaponry, including armoured personnel carriers and DShK heavy machine guns.

Despite this total communications blackout, the limited videos and reports that have managed to reach the outside world indicate widespread and systematic slaughter. According to reports published by international media and credible news organisations:

• Iran International has reported that the number of those killed has reached around 12,000.
• Some U.S. media outlets and independent analysts have estimated the death toll at up to 20,000.
• Reports have emerged indicating that more than 8,000 people have been shot directly in the eye and have lost their eyesight.
• In some reports, the number of arrests has reached over 300,000.

We emphasise that this scale of criminality is not only an assault on the people of Iran; it is also a flagrant violation of international conventions, covenants, and commitments in the fields of human rights, labour rights, and fundamental freedoms. Accordingly:

1) Diplomatic relations between states and the Islamic Republic have no justification.

Based on established principles of international law—particularly the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the Geneva Conventions, and customary international law—the systematic and widespread repression of protesters, the killing of unarmed civilians, torture, extrajudicial detentions, enforced disappearances, and the systematic persecution of political opponents in Iran constitute a clear case of crimes against humanity.

Accordingly, the senior leaders and high-ranking officials of the Islamic Republic who have played a role in the design of these policies, the issuing of orders, or their implementation bear individual criminal responsibility, and no official or governmental position can confer immunity upon them. We therefore stress the necessity of recognising these individuals as international criminals and of pursuing their immediate prosecution based on the principle of non-immunity, universal jurisdiction, and the international community’s obligation to combat impunity. Continued silence and inaction amount to complicity in crime and serve to entrench the cycle of state repression and violence.

Once again, we call on labour unions to pressure their governments to close the Islamic Republic’s embassies and sever diplomatic relations with this regime.

2) The Islamic Republic’s membership in international organisations—especially the ILO—is an insult to Iran’s workers and people.
We demand the immediate suspension or expulsion of the Islamic Republic from these bodies, and we urge unions to place this demand firmly and seriously on their agenda.

3) The Iranian people’s access to a free internet and independent communications must be guaranteed immediately.
An internet shutdown is a tool for concealing crimes, and it constitutes a direct violation of the right to information and communication.

4) United action by labour unions—particularly in Europe—is an urgent necessity.

We stress that scattered, isolated measures are not enough. What can be effective today is joint initiatives, coordinated statements, simultaneous pressure on governments, and collective, practical union action at regional and global levels.

Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad reiterates that the ongoing protests in Iran are not a temporary episode, but a struggle to end decades of despotism, poverty, repression, and systematic disenfranchisement. Iran’s working class—despite the harsh suppression of organisation and the absence of broad, independent institutions—stands on the front lines of this struggle and is paying the highest price.

We call on you—comrades and partners in the global labour movement—to stand once again with the people and workers of Iran at this historic moment through decisive, coordinated, and public action.

This is not only a defence of the people of Iran; it is a defence of human dignity, social justice, and the foundational principles of the global labour movement.

With respect and solidarity,
Iran Labour Confederation – Abroad
20 January 2026

If you have any questions, comments, or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. You can reach us directly via email at contact[at]iranlc.work.