Le Monde Editorial: “Terror” as the Islamic Republic’s Last Remaining Engine

In a January 17, 2026 editorial, Le Monde argues that Iran’s ruling system—deprived of its early ideological momentum and the limited “electoral legitimacy” that once offered a façade of political breathing space—now operates on a single, brutal fuel: terror.

The editorial says a heavy “lead blanket” has fallen again over Iranians—in blood—after a popular uprising that began on December 28, 2025, triggered by a dramatic collapse of the national currency. It describes the crackdown as an unprecedented outburst of violence, based on early testimonies gathered with difficulty.

Le Monde stresses that the death toll is currently impossible to establish: internet access was cut ahead of the repression, and the press cannot work freely. Yet, the paper warns, the final toll “promises to be terrible.”

By crushing a movement that President Massoud Pezeshkian initially judged legitimate, the authorities, the editorial argues, have above all revealed weakness. The protest wave—rooted in rapidly worsening living conditions—quickly identified those responsible: a regime ready to sacrifice the nation’s future, embodied by Khamenei, who is steering the country toward the abyss.

The editorial links Iran’s economic misery to years of sanctions driven by the leadership’s nuclear ambition, portrayed as a “life insurance policy” against external attack—while national wealth is allegedly monopolized by a regime-linked caste, notably the IRGC, described as on the front line of repression.

Externally, Le Monde calls the record “catastrophic”: Tehran’s militia axis has been torn apart in 2024 and 2025 under Israeli bombardments, and Syria’s Assad regime—long sustained—collapsed in less than ten days at the end of 2024, leaving Iran weaker than ever.

Finally, the paper criticizes “irresponsible voices” abroad who urged Iranians to defy gunfire while offering only empty promises—citing Donald Trump’s claim that help was “on the way” after protests had already ended, followed by thanks to Iranian leaders for allegedly canceling hangings. The editorial concludes that such cynicism plays into the regime’s hands, and that the dangerous twilight Iran is entering makes genuine solidarity with those who dare to challenge power more urgent than ever.