On 28 December 2025, protests erupted in Tehran, in response to Iran’s economic collapse, marked by the sharp devaluation of the Iranian rial, soaring food prices, and chronic energy shortages affecting households and essential services. What began as economically driven demonstrations rapidly transformed into a nationwide movement, spreading across all 31 provinces and cutting across class, ethnic, and generational lines. Protesters articulated grievances not only against hyperinflation and economic precarity, but also against entrenched corruption, the erosion of public infrastructure and social protection systems, and disproportionate military spending amid widespread civilian hardship. These demands have increasingly converged with broader questions of political accountability and the legitimacy of the ruling regime.
The state response has been swift and militarized. Since early January 2026, Iranian authorities have deployed security forces and military units to suppress demonstrations, resulting in widespread clashes. On 8 January 2026, the government imposed a near-total internet blackout, effectively suppressing communication channels, obstructing independent reporting from the ground, and concealing the scale of state violence. While there are reports of internet connection returning to Iran, the connection is still intermittent and with internet observers reporting significant throttling in internet connectivity. Casualty reports remain difficult to verify due to the blackout and discrepancies between state reporting and human rights documentation; however, credible estimates indicate that thousands have been killed, with tens of thousands reportedly detained. Despite the escalating unrest, the core demands of the movement — addressing hyperinflation, systemic corruption, the erosion of basic social services and infrastructure, and disproportionate military spending — remain unaddressed, alongside growing challenges to the political legitimacy of the regime.
ILGA Asia is concerned by the protest crackdowns undertaken by the Iranian regime with excessive use of force against the protestors, the loss of human lives, and the internet blackout employed for the repression of freedom of expression and information in Iran. The UN has called this the “deadliest crackdown by the Government of Iran against its people” since 1979 and underscored the urgency of collecting evidence of alleged human rights violations, including to determine whether international crimes such as crimes against humanity may have occurred.
In situations of unrest, those already living at the margins are often the most severely impacted. While Iran is the only country in the Middle East that formally recognises transgender identities and permits gender-affirming surgeries, LGBTIQ people remain subject to extensive state surveillance, criminalisation, and restrictions on political and social visibility. In its report published on 14 March 2025, the UN Independent International Fact Finding Mission on Iran found that Iranian authorities have committed gross human rights violations as well as evidence of LGBTIQ people being specifically and systematically targeted for persecution in the aftermath of the 2022-2023 “Woman, Life, Freedom” protests. While the long and short term impact of the current events are still unfolding, the LGBTIQ people on the ground continue to be implicated because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics.
“Being a member of the LGBTQIA+ community in Iran means holding an identity that exposes you to more intersectional discrimination in all levels and aspects of life, including invisibilisation and denying one’s existence. Both the economic reasons and inflation, which ignited this recent uprising, and the harsh response of the Iranian regime suppressing the protests, have a great impact on our community. If the queer identities are revealed to authorities, they face a more severe reaction, torture, and oppression. Yet, Iranian LGBTQIA+ people, both inside and outside of the country, are fiercely there, among the protestors, walking and shouting for everyone’s right to freedom, equality, and justice.” — Soudeh Rad, Executive Director, Feminist Spectrum.
Reflecting on the broader implications of the crackdown, ILGA Asia’s Executive Director underscored that the persecution of LGBTIQ people in Iran is neither incidental nor isolated, but deeply embedded within the state’s broader architecture of repression. Periods of political unrest consistently reveal how laws, moral policing, and gender norms are weaponised to fracture dissent, justify excessive force, and discipline bodies deemed deviant or disposable.
“As economic collapse, political repression, and identity-based violence converge, the systematic targeting of LGBTIQ people in Iran demands urgent international scrutiny and accountability. Protecting the rights and lives of those most at risk is not peripheral to this crisis — it is central to any credible response.” — Henry Koh, Executive Director, ILGA Asia
ILGA Asia stands in solidarity with the people of Iran and their freedom of assembly, protest, and expression. There has been a wave of anti-state protests across Asia and the globe sparked by economic inequality and rampant corruption as seen in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, and now Iran. We condemn the disproportionate use of force from states to suppress such movements and weaponizing internet blackouts to suppress communications and information flow.
As the situation in Iran continues to escalate, ILGA Asia is further concerned about the LGBTIQ communities in and outside Iran who may be targeted and whose lives and wellbeing may be impacted as a result. ILGA Asia stands with the people’s movements for equality, justice, and accountability across the region and urges states to listen to the voices of the most marginalised – including the LGBTIQ communities.
Testimonials from displaced LGBTIQ Afghanistani in Iran
The following testimony illustrates the compounded vulnerabilities faced by displaced LGBTIQ people in Iran, particularly those deported or forcibly returned to contexts of extreme persecution.
“My life in Iran was worse than in Afghanistan. Every day was full of humiliation, insults, and abuse. They called me ‘Izak Afghani’ and looked at me with hatred. I had no one; only God.
To survive, I had to work in a women’s beauty salon. But even there, I was rejected. They said, ‘You’re neither a man nor a woman. This is not a place for you.’ The young women didn’t want me to work for them. I had no money—not for food, nor for shelter.
I wanted to find a job in a hotel, but they refused. They said, ‘You’re a “Night girl,” and you’ll bring shame to this place.’ At night, I was afraid of thieves, of being raped. Sometimes, I would go to a hotel just to sleep. But even there, I wasn’t safe. The hotel manager asked me to give my body in exchange for safety. He said, ‘You look like a woman, we like people like you.’ I just wanted to stay alive. They would give me a place for a week and then throw me out.
If I got sick and had no money, even the doctor would ask for sex in exchange for treatment. I had to accept. Every night felt like death. My life was worse than that of a dog. I had no clothes, no food, no dignity—nothing. I buried all my emotions and desires just to survive. I was afraid to wear makeup; I was afraid I would get caught. Iran is an Islamic country, but it showed me no mercy.
Amidst all the injustices, I sometimes thought about suicide, but I endured. After a while, my visa expired. The Iranian government deported me, beating me up—without money, crying, and full of regret.
When I entered Afghanistan, the Taliban tried to arrest me. They interrogated me for twenty minutes. They asked, ‘Why do you speak like this? Why do your hands and movements appear feminine?’ They hit me in the face. They beat me with their feet. They said, ‘You’re Izak.’ My mouth bled. They burned my clothes and belongings. They wanted to imprison me. A few elders came and saved me. They tore up my passport—every single page.”
