Khamenei Brought In 5,000 Iraqi Fighters To Crush Iran Protests: Report

Last Updated:January 17, 2026, 21:54 IST

Iran’s leadership allegedly used thousands of Iraqi Shia militias, including Kataib Hezbollah and Badr Organisation, to suppress protests.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (File image: AFP)

New information has intensified allegations that Iran’s leadership brought in foreign Shia militias from Iraq to suppress nationwide protests, as violence on the streets surged and then abruptly subsided.

According to multiple reports, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei relied on Arabic-speaking fighters linked to Iran-backed groups after parts of Iran’s own security apparatus reportedly hesitated to use lethal force against protesters. The strategy appears to have coincided with a sharp rise in deaths, followed by a sudden lull in demonstrations.

Initial estimates suggested a few hundred fighters were involved. However, fresh accounts now indicate that the number may have been far higher, with thousands of Iraqi militiamen entering Iran in recent weeks under the cover of religious travel.

A January 16 report by CNN cited both a European military source and an Iraqi security official who confirmed that Iraqi fighters crossed into Iran to help suppress unrest. The Iraqi official said “nearly 5,000 fighters" entered the country through two southern border crossings — Shaib in Maysan province and Zurbatiya in Wasit province.

Separately, a European military source said “800 Shiite fighters crossed from the Iraqi provinces of Diyala, Maysan and Basra", travelling “under the pretence of religious pilgrimages".

According to CNN, the fighters belong to Iran-aligned groups including Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada and the Badr Organisation. These groups operate under Iraq’s Popular Mobilisation Forces and were reportedly deployed to sensitive locations inside Iran, including cities such as Hamedan.

“The recourse to foreign militias falls under a clear security strategy: neutralising any possibility of fraternisation between the forces of repression and the demonstrators," a European military assessment cited by CNN said.

Earlier accounts had already hinted at unusual cross-border movement. Days before CNN’s report, India Today Digital documented activity near the Iran-Iraq border. Iraqi interior ministry official Ali D told The MediaLine that dozens of buses carrying supposed Shia pilgrims crossed into Iran by January 11.

“There were no families, no elderly travellers. There were only young men, all dressed in identical black T-shirts," Ali D said.

He added that nearly 60 buses, each carrying about 50 passengers, had crossed by that date. The movement coincided with protests spreading to at least 614 locations across all 31 Iranian provinces, accompanied by a spike in violence.

Human rights organisations say some Iranian security personnel refused to fire on protesters. The Hengaw Organisation for Human Rights reported that such individuals were later detained.

Analysts say Iran’s forces have been under strain after losses suffered in recent conflicts, including the June war and wider regional tensions following the Gaza conflict that began in October 2023.

Iranian opposition figure Mehdi Reza said Iraqi militias were sent “to guard official or military headquarters". Journalist Nejat Bahrami warned that “terrorists of Hezbollah and Hashd al-Shaabi" were preparing to suppress Iranians.

While exact figures remain difficult to verify, reports from CNN, Iran , Fox News Digital and human rights groups all point to the use of Iraqi Shia militias inside Iran.

A person who spoke with family members in Tehran told the New York Post that protests stopped after a “ruthless slaughter of anti-government protesters".

“There are no protests anymore because of massive killings," the person was quoted as saying.

Reuters reported that Tehran has been largely calm in recent days, though residents said drones were flying overhead and occasional unrest was still being reported.

“There has been a massacre in Iran," Mahmoud Amiry-Moghaddam, co-founder of the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights NGO, told Middle East Eye. He said at least 3,428 people had been killed so far.

For now, observers say the heavy presence of armed foreign fighters appears to have silenced the protests — at least temporarily.

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