An Iranian journalist publicly confronted the regime during a live, government-run press conference, accusing officials of evading responsibility for the killing of protesters and hiding behind claims that “the enemy” is to blame. Her remarks were later removed from all rebroadcasts of the event.
During a January 27, 2026 press conference aired on state television, Parisa Hashemi sharply criticized Iranian officials for what she described as mass killings of youth, children, men, and women during recent protests. Speaking directly to the government spokesperson on live broadcast on IRINN TV, Hashemi said that in other countries, officials would have resigned in disgrace after such events—yet in Iran, no one has stepped down.
Hashemi rejected the government’s repeated claim that “the enemy” orchestrated the unrest and bloodshed, saying officials offer nothing but hollow promises to investigate while deflecting blame. She described the deepening hardships facing ordinary Iranians: the collapsing value of the national currency, surging dollar rates, shortages of water and electricity, polluted air, and widespread shutdowns that have crippled education and basic administrative services.
Opening with condolences to families who lost loved ones, Hashemi challenged the spokesperson to explain what concrete steps—if any—the government is taking to rein in inflation and address the daily crises confronting the public. According to reports, her comments and questions were subsequently cut from all official rebroadcasts of the press conference.