Fallen Hero Mehdi Khalili
Death Mehdi Khalili 23 years old in Iran Eslamshahr Vavan
Written by: Rozhava
We waited up for you in Tehran until midnight, but you never came, brother. I can no longer bear to look into Mother’s searching eyes, my brother. These are the dying minutes of 8 January (18 Dey); a night when the streets have turned into scenes of appalling violence—so naked and merciless that even horror writers would struggle to imagine it. Popular protests erupted in the wake of economic misery, and shopkeepers and bazaar merchants went on strike. Worn out by endless suffering, people poured into the streets once more. As the unrest continued, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called upon Iranians to take to the streets on the nights of 8 and 9 January 2026 (18 and 19 Dey 1404) or chant slogans from their homes in solidarity with their compatriots. Now the first night of that call draws to an end. The massive turnout has been met with bloody suppression. At every street corner where a cry for freedom rises, the answer is live rounds. Machine guns mounted on Toyotas are deployed across the city, snipers perch on high ground overlooking the crowds, and security forces alongside plainclothes agents roam the streets armed with cold steel and firearms. We are still a long way from Muharram…
اسلامشهر · مهدی خلیلی · واوان
