Australia: In a joint statement, Australia, Canada, and the European Union denounced the murder of anti-government demonstrators in Iran and praised the Iranian people’s courage in defending their basic rights.

As instability shows no signs of abating, anti-government demonstrations continue to erupt across Iran, resulting in the deaths of numerous demonstrators and a communication blockage in certain areas of the nation.

Since the protests started in December of last year, at least 62 people have died, according to many media sources.

“We commend the bravery of the Iranian people as they stand up for their dignity and their fundamental right to peaceful protest,” the foreign ministers of Australia, Canada, and the European Union said in a joint statement. We vehemently oppose the Iranian regime’s use of violence, arbitrary detentions, intimidation, and protestor deaths against its own citizens.

“Iran’s security forces, especially the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Basij, must immediately stop using disproportionate and deadly force against demonstrators. “Too many lives have already been lost—more than 40 to date,” it said.

According to the Ministers, the Iranian government should “permit the freedom of expression and peaceful assembly without fear of reprisal” in order to fulfill its duty to safeguard its people.

The demonstrations, which began on December 28, 2025, in two Tehrani marketplaces over the sharp decline in the value of the rial and soaring inflation, have now spread across the country.

In the midst of economic hardship and popular discontent, the protests show rising ire against the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s religious establishment.

Iranian official media had mostly refrained from discussing the number of those killed in the rebellion, but on Friday they acknowledged that there had been “casualties” but did not elaborate.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 2,311 people have been arrested and over 65 people have been murdered in the rallies, which began their 13th day on January 9.

The article states that protests have expanded to 512 venues in 180 cities across Iran’s 31 provinces.

As demonstrations raged around the Islamic Republic, Reza Pahlavi, Iran’s exiled crown prince, urged US President Donald Trump to act immediately on Friday.

Pahlavi said on social media, “Mr. President, this is an urgent and immediate call for your attention, support, and action.” “Please be ready to step in and support the Iranian people.”

Pahlavi has been aggressively encouraging Iranians to rebel against Khamenei’s Islamic authority on social media.

Following his appeal, a sizable number of people walked to the streets on Thursday and Friday.

Protesters also called for Pahlavi’s return to Iran and expressed support for him amid anti-government chanting.

Pahlavi’s father, the nation’s last ruler, left Iran months before the Islamic Revolution of 1979 toppled the crown.