London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Jul 05, 2025

Iran protests: Wanted leader in hiding from regime says 'people have become more daring'

Iran protests: Wanted leader in hiding from regime says 'people have become more daring'

Kawa, one of Iran's protest leaders, is wanted by the Iranian regime and is hiding out in a safe house over the border in northern Iraq.

Kawa adjusts his baseball cap and sips some hot tea.

He is a slight, softly spoken young man with few distinguishing features.

His friends roar with laughter when he asks us not to show his ears on camera. It's a moment of levity, but Kawa is deadly serious.

As one of Iran's protest leaders, he is a wanted man, and the threat of imprisonment and torture hangs over him.

"At night, I'm always ready to flee if they raid our house. I have prepared everything."

We are in a safe house over the border in northern Iraq. He's briefly left Iran but is still taking no risks - Iranian agents operate here.

"You sense the fear and terror in society," he admits, but adds "morale is very high".

"We are waiting and looking for a window to come back to the street. Anything small that happens would bring people back to the street."

More than 500 people are estimated to have been killed since nationwide protests broke out in September, over the death of a young woman in police custody who was arrested for wearing her hijab "incorrectly".

Kawa thinks Iranian society is hardening against the regime. He tells me a story about one night when the feared Basij paramilitary forces fired on a mosque as they were readying bodies for burial.


The Basij fire on a mosque in Iran

"People had gone to the hospitals so the corpses would not be taken by the regime. They [the protesters] brought a body to wash it and bury it," he says.

"At that moment the regime fired on the mosque.

"People gathered in the mosque and the regime fired from the roof and several people were wounded. They fired on people with AK47s, firing round after round.

"There were women and children with us, and I did not see anyone with us wearing military fatigues. The way they shot at us was like they were attacking an armed group, but we were civilians."

'More violence ahead'


Kawa also believes there will be more violence in the coming months as the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution approaches.

Sky News has been sent footage of protesters peppered with hundreds of pellets embedded in their skin. It is proof that the Iranian regime is using shotguns against the demonstrators.

We also have video of doctors working to save these patients in secret makeshift clinics in private apartments - if the protesters go for treatment in hospital they will immediately identify themselves to the regime.

The doctors are taking huge risks too, smuggling medicine and supplies out of hospitals to help the protesters.

Protests in Tehran in September last year


It's proof of an extensive underground network - the anti-government feeling is deeper than street level.

"The doctors' help... is of critical importance to the wounded protesters," an activist inside Iran told Sky News.

"If these secret medical teams were not available, most of the wounded would most likely die because infections would spread to their bodies from their injuries.

"Some, whose medical situations were not good, had to have their hands or arms amputated."

'People have become more daring'


Kawa will go back to Iran to continue organising the uprising. I ask him how he feels at that prospect.

"I feel it is my responsibility to go back and resume my activity until my people are free," he says.

"I see victory in the fact that people have become united, they have one objective and they are closer to each other.

"People have become more daring and towards the end of the Islamic republic.

"I want the Islamic republic to disappear and for our people to be freed."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
London Stock Exchange Faces Historic Low in Initial Public Offerings
A new online platform has emerged in the United Kingdom, specifically targeting Muslim men seeking virgin brides
Trump Celebrates Independence Day with B-2 Flyover and Signs Controversial Legislation
Boris Johnson Urges Conservatives to Ignore Farage
SNP Ordered to Update Single-Sex Space Guidance Within Days
Starmer Set to Reject Calls for Wealth Taxes
Stolen Century-Old Rolls-Royce Recovered After Hotel Theft
Macron Presses Starmer to Recognise Palestinian State
Labour Delayed Palestine Action Ban Over Riot Concerns
Swinney’s Tax Comments ‘Offensive to Scots’, Say Tories
High Street Retailers to Enforce Bans on Serial Shoplifters
Music Banned by Henry VIII to Be Performed After 500 Years
Steve Coogan Says Working Class Is Being ‘Ethnically Cleansed’
Home Office Admits Uncertainty Over Visa Overstayer Numbers
JD Vance Questions Mandelson Over Reform Party’s Rising Popularity
Macron to Receive Windsor Carriage Ride in Royal Gesture
Labour Accused of ‘Hammering’ Scots During First Year in Power
BBC Head of Music Stood Down Amid Bob Vylan Controversy
Corbyn Eyes Hard-Left Challenge to Starmer’s Leadership
London Tube Trains Suspended After Major Fire Erupts Nearby
Richard Kemp: I Felt Safer in Israel Under Attack Than in the UK
Cyclist Says Police Cited Human Rights Act for Riding No-Handed
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
Saudi Arabia Maintains Ties with Iran Despite Israel Conflict
Musk Battles to Protect Tesla Amid Trump Policy Threats
Air France-KLM Acquires Majority Stake in Scandinavian Airlines
UK Educators Sound Alarm on Declining Child Literacy
Shein Fined €40 Million in France Over Misleading Discounts
Brazil’s Lula Visits Kirchner During Argentina House Arrest
Trump Scores Legislative Win as House Passes Tax Reform Bill
Keir Starmer Faces Criticism After Rocky First Year in Power
DJI Launches Heavy-Duty Coaxial Quadcopter with 80 kg Lift Capacity
U.S. Senate Approves Major Legislation Dubbed the 'Big Beautiful Bill'
Largest Healthcare Fraud Takedown in U.S. History Announced by DOJ
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Political Dispute Escalates Between Trump and Musk
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
US Senate Votes to Remove AI Regulation Moratorium from Domestic Policy Bill
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
Jury Deliberations in Diddy Trial Yield Partial Verdict in Serious Criminal Charges
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
King Charles Plans Significant Role for Prince Harry in Coronation
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested for Espionage Activities Against U.S. Navy
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
×