Three children dead in Iran protests as security forces accused of ‘indiscriminate targeting’

Protests in Isfahan, Iran, on 1 January 2026; uprisings have been reported in at least 78 cities across the country. Photograph: X/IranProtestsCom

At least three children are reported to have been killed and more than 40 minors arrested after eight days of the ongoing protests across Iran, as human rights groups accuse the regime’s security forces of “indiscriminate targeting of civilians”.

The nationwide uprising sparked by the collapse of the country’s currency and rising living costs has spread to at least 78 cities and 222 locations, with demonstrators calling for the end of the regime, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRAI).