Leaked Documents Reveal Iran’s Coordinated Plan to Crush Protests

Classified documents obtained from within the Iranian regime have exposed a methodical strategy, approved by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to violently suppress nationwide protests through force, surveillance, and internet shutdowns.

The secret directives, reviewed by news organizations, show that Iran’s Supreme National Security Council developed the blueprint following the 2019 nationwide protests that erupted amid fuel price hikes and economic collapse. These documents served as the foundation for the regime’s response to the January 2026 demonstrations.

At a press briefing Tuesday, Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI) Washington office, revealed that the documents “were obtained from within the regime” through the network of The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK), which maintains sources inside the government.

“These documents show the regime’s efforts to prevent the resurgence of the uprising and, if it occurred, to suppress it,” Jafarzadeh explained. “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 as “top secret” and issued on March 3, 2021, codifies four escalating law enforcement and security conditions, defining how unrest would be handled and which authorities would command at each stage.

Initial law enforcement and non-armed security situations placed command authority with Iran’s national police force, supported by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Intelligence Ministry (VAJA). However, in the most severe category, designated as an “armed security situation,” full command authority rapidly shifted to the IRGC.

“For now, this compilation should be communicated for two years,” Khamenei wrote in his directive before ordering nationwide implementation of the plan.

These guidelines became the operational framework for suppressing the January 2026 protests, which erupted amid soaring inflation, currency collapse, and widespread 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 still under investigation.

Internal regime assessments cited in the 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 January 8, when authority shifted fully to the IRGC, which assumed command and carried out armed operations against protesters.

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 complete shutdowns to prevent information from spreading internally and reaching the outside world.

A second classified document, compiled in 2024 by the IRGC’s Sarallah Headquarters, reveals the extensive preparations the regime made to suppress dissent. The 129-page “Comprehensive Security Plan of Tehran” details surveillance and repression measures, specifically identifying members of the opposition MEK and family members of executed dissidents as “level number one” enemies subject to monitoring and control.

The security apparatus escalated from using pellet guns to deploying live ammunition as protests intensified, reflecting the predetermined strategy to use increasingly lethal force as outlined in the documents.

“These documents show how far the regime is prepared to go to kill as many people as needed, which they did in January 2026,” Jafarzadeh noted. “However, these killings further convinced the people that there is only one way to end the violence, and that is to overthrow the regime.”

The revelations come as Iran faces increasing international scrutiny over its human rights record and domestic repression. According to Jafarzadeh, the brutal crackdown has only strengthened resistance within the country: “There are more people, especially young ones, who have joined the ranks of the organized force to confront the IRGC and liberate the nation.”