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Watch: Iranian journalist breaks down at UN while reading names of protesters killed
Masih Alinejad did not hold back in condemning the Iranian regime, comparing the clerical rulers to Daesh and insisting the world must treat them as such
- PUBLISHED: Fri 16 Jan 2026, 5:06 PM UPDATED: Fri 16 Jan 2026, 5:08 PM
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Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad broke down as she sat at the United Nations, her voice trembling with grief and anger. She was reading aloud the names of those killed during the protests in Iran — a litany of lives lost in the fight for justice.
Her composure broke completely when she recalled Negin Ghadimi, a 28-year-old who died in her father’s arms after being shot by a member of the Revolutionary Guards. “I feel guilty that I don’t name the rest,” Alinejad said, her voice faltering. “The list of names goes on and on. They knew they would face guns and bullets, but they wanted justice.”
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But her grief was inseparable from her fury. Masih did not hold back in condemning the Iranian regime, comparing the clerical rulers to Daesh and insisting the world must treat them as such. “The Iranian people are asking the world to help through actions, not back-to-back meetings and empty condemnation,” she said. “The Islamic Republic behaves like (Daesh), and the Islamic Republic must be treated like (Daesh). This is how you can save lives.”
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Check out the video below, as shared by Reuters:
The remarks come amid the deadliest wave of dissent in the Islamic Republic in years, with the US-based HRANA rights group reporting that the death toll from the protests in Iran has reached 2,571 people.
The group said it had so far verified the deaths of 2,403 protesters, 147 government-affiliated individuals, 12 people aged under 18 and nine non-protester civilians. An Iranian official said on Tuesday about 2,000 people had been killed, the first time authorities have given an overall death toll from more than two weeks of nationwide unrest.
The unrest, sparked by dire economic conditions, has posed the biggest internal challenge to Iran's rulers for at least three years and has come at a time of intensifying international pressure after Israeli and US strikes last year.
(With inputs from Reuters)
