Opposition seizes Iran state TV to urge revolt against regime

Hackers aired protest footage and called for revolt amid the deadly crackdown.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Iranian state television was hijacked for roughly 10 minutes Sunday night by opposition forces who replaced regular programming with calls for rebellion and footage documenting the regime’s violent crackdown on protesters.

The cyberattack on the Badr satellite disrupted more than 10 state-run television and radio channels nationwide.

Millions of viewers saw videos of mass demonstrations in Tehran and Zahedan, with crowds chanting “Death to the dictator,” alongside a speech by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former shah, urging Iranians to overthrow the ayatollahs.

Hackers also aired images from the 2022–2023 “Women, Life, Freedom” protests, including that of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for not wearing her hijab properly and then murdered while in custody — the event that ignited the nationwide unrest.

A direct appeal to security forces appeared across screens, saying, “Soldier, will you shoot your brother? Join the people before it’s too late.”

On some channels, a televised speech by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was interrupted by an image of a rifle scope centered on his face.

Media outlets noted the sophistication of the operation, as satellites such as Badr are equipped with advanced countermeasures designed to block foreign signal intrusions within seconds.

Large-scale protests have subsided in recent days amid widespread fear, as despite comments by US President Donald Trump last week that the regime is “stopping to kill its citizens … and there are no plans for executions,” opposition sources say mass killings have continued without any judicial process.

After authorities partially restored tightly controlled internet access following several days of blackout, activists released footage they said was recorded during especially deadly clashes on January 8–9.

One video shows sustained gunfire directed at massive crowds of demonstrators in Tehran.

The Times of London cited Iranian doctors who estimate that at least 16,500 protesters have been killed and approximately 330,000 wounded since the unrest began.

According to the report, many injured demonstrators died due to lack of medical care, as members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly refused to allow physicians to carry out blood transfusions and other lifesaving treatment.

Other accounts describe wounded protesters being dragged from hospital beds and either executed or taken into custody.

Some sources say that more than 20,000 people have been arrested.

The New York Post aired an excerpt from London-based, Persian-language Manoto TV in which the daughter of an Iranian military commander cried as she said she possessed both video and written proof that senior officers, including her father, ordered their own children to beat and shoot protesters using guns and electric batons.

She said she herself had been beaten for her opposition views and now fears for her life.