Bullets, Blackouts, and Burials: Inside Iran’s Systematic Terror Machine Before the Bombs Fell

What unfolded on January 8 and 9 was not crowd control but carnage.

Iran's erstwhile Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. — Iran's erstwhile Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on Thursday, June 25, 2026. Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran via Getty Images

HOLLIE McKAY

Mar 1, 2026, 01:17 AM ET