On Tuesday, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) unveiled a cache of classified documents that challenge the narrative that the Iranian regime’s recent violence was a panicked reaction to civil unrest. According to the documents, obtained by the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) from within the regime’s security apparatus, the mass killings witnessed during the January 2026 protests were the execution of a standing order—a specific, escalating strategy of suppression personally approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei years in advance.
The “Four-Stage” Directive
At a press conference in Washington, D.C., the NCRI exposed a directive issued by the Supreme National Security Council, classified “top secret” and dated March 3, 2021. The document codifies four escalating levels of “law enforcement and security conditions,” dictating precisely how the state apparatus would respond to dissent.
The directive outlines a transition of command designed to militarize the streets rapidly. In initial stages, authority rests with the national police (FARAJA), supported by the Intelligence Ministry (MOIS) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). However, the documents specify that once the situation is designated an “armed security situation,” full operational command shifts entirely to the IRGC.
According to the internal assessments revealed by the NCRI, this shift occurred on January 8, 2026. On this date, the regime moved from police containment to military suppression, granting the IRGC a green light to utilize lethal force against unarmed civilians.
Furthermore, the documents dispel the notion that internet blackouts during the uprising were ad-hoc technical failures. The directives explicitly command the Ministry of Communications to implement “internet restrictions,” including full shutdowns, once specific security thresholds are met. The goal, as outlined in the 2021 order, was to isolate protestors and prevent real-time evidence of the crackdown from reaching the international community.
“This Directive by the National Security Council was obtained by the network in Iran of the MEK, which has access to sources within the regime,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, Deputy Director of the NCRI Washington office. “These documents show… clear operational plans allocated to the IRGC to use lethal force to kill as many people as needed to stay in power.”
🚨Leaked documents expose Khamenei's secret deadly blueprint for crushing #Iran protests
The 129-page 'Comprehensive Security Plan of Tehran' identifies the opposition MEK & family members of executed dissidents as 'level number one' enemies. https://t.co/MD9mMqeO3G #FoxNews pic.twitter.com/neMjHKI9vh
— Ali Safavi (@amsafavi) February 4, 2026
Pre-Emptive Targeting and Surveillance
The leaked files also included a 129-page dossier titled “Comprehensive Security Plan of Tehran,” compiled in the fall of 2024 by the IRGC’s Sarallah Headquarters. This document confirms that the regime had been mapping out a suppression strategy months before the January 2026 uprising began.
The Sarallah plan details the systematic identification of “high-risk” citizens. It specifically categorizes members of the opposition MEK and the families of previously executed dissidents as “level number one” enemies. The strategy called for extensive surveillance of these individuals to preemptively neutralize the organized core of any potential uprising.
Despite an audio recording from April 2025—also released by the NCRI—in which the Intelligence Minister boasted to senior officials that all potential threats had been neutralized, the scope of the January protests suggests a massive intelligence failure regarding the public’s resolve.
“This was not panic. This was a plan,” Jafarzadeh told reporters. “They anticipated a national uprising — and prepared to crush it.”
The @NCRIUS has compiled a list of 2,257 protesters — including 152 children — killed in the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown last month. pic.twitter.com/7t5JrrzeGh
— Caitlin Doornbos (@CaitlinDoornbos) February 3, 2026
The Anatomy of the Massacre
The application of Khamenei’s blueprint resulted in devastation across more than 400 cities and 31 provinces. The protests, initially sparked by soaring inflation, currency collapse, and fuel price hikes, rapidly morphed into a political revolution with chants of “Death to Khamenei” and “Death to the dictator.”
The Iranian Resistance has verified the identities of at least 2,257 protesters murdered by the regime’s security forces during the crackdown, though the actual toll is much higher. Among the confirmed dead are 150 children and 245 women.
The tactics deployed went beyond crowd control. The regime forces fired indiscriminately into crowds with live ammunition and heavy machine guns. In a particularly cruel bureaucratic twist, the NCRI reported that grieving families were forced to pay the state for the bullets used to kill their loved ones before reclaiming the bodies.
In addition to brute force, the regime engaged in psychological operations. The leaked information revealed that plainclothes agents were embedded within protest crowds. Their orders were to disrupt anti-Khamenei chants by redirecting slogans toward pro-monarchy rhetoric, a tactic designed to fracture the opposition’s unity and confuse the public messaging.
▶️ #FoxNews: Leaked documents expose Khamenei's secret deadly blueprint for crushing Iran protestshttps://t.co/nAbd04b0dy
"This Directive by the National Security Council was obtained by the network in Iran of the MEK, which has access to sources within the regime," he [NCRI-US… pic.twitter.com/fMSIwyvHkZ— NCRI-U.S. Rep Office (@NCRIUS) February 4, 2026
A Turning Point in Legitimacy
The documents indicate that while the regime succeeded in killing thousands, the “blueprint” failed to secure the stability Khamenei sought. The sheer scale of the uprising—reaching Kurdish, Baluchi, and Azeri regions, and involving the temporary seizure of neighborhoods by unarmed residents—demonstrates a population that has moved beyond fear.
Jafarzadeh argued that the documents prove the regime views its own population as an existential threat to be managed through military force rather than governance. The leaked audio and the Sarallah plan show a regime deeply paranoid about the organized resistance, specifically the PMOI’s influence on the younger generation.
“This massacre did not intimidate the people,” Jafarzadeh concluded. “It convinced millions that there is only one solution — to end the rule of the clerics.