Protests erupted across Iran on Dec. 28 as public anger over the country’s collapsing country spilled into the streets. Members of the LGBTQ community are among those who have participated in them.

What began as demonstrations over rising living costs soon expanded into broader political dissent, with protesters chanting anti-government slogans and, in some cases, directly criticizing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Authorities later imposed internet restrictions and launched a nationwide crackdown, according to human rights groups.

According to Reuters, an Iranian official said authorities have verified at least 5,000 deaths linked to the unrest, including about 500 members of the security forces. The official blamed what the government described as “terrorists and armed rioters” for the killings, a characterization that could not be independently verified due to severe restrictions on media access and internet connectivity.

The same official told Reuters that the final death toll was not expected to rise significantly. The official also alleged that Israel and armed groups outside Iran had supported and supplied those involved in the protests, claims that could not be independently verified.

Multiple sources told the Washington Blade that LGBTQ Iranians have taken part in the protests against the government, despite the heightened risks they face under the country’s strict laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.

Arsham Parsi, founder and executive director of International Railroad for Queer Refugees, is from Shiraz, a city in southern Iran. He fled the country in 2005.

Parsi told the Blade a widespread demand for dignity and freedom is driving the uprising. 

“It is important to say clearly: LGBTQ people are part of Iranian society, and they are part of this protest,” said Parsi. “Many are participating directly, despite facing risks that are often even greater than others — because in Iran they are already criminalized and targeted simply for who they are.”

“For LGBTQ Iranians, showing up — whether publicly or in underground ways — can carry life-and-death consequences,” he added.

Parsi told the Blade that members of the LGBTQ community with whom he has been in contact described a mix of fear, exhaustion, grief, and determination. He added that many of them feel this moment differs from previous waves of protest in Iran.

“The scope, the persistence, and the public rejection of fear feel qualitatively different — and for that reason, many Iranians inside and outside the country are hopeful that this will lead to real transformation, including regime change, and that Iranians will finally regain their freedom,” said Parsi. “Freedom is not free, and Iranians are paying its cost with their blood.”

Parsi said the government’s response to the protests has been severe; citing widespread blackouts, internet shutdowns, telephone disruptions, and heavy security presence on the streets. He said the communication restrictions have made it increasingly difficult to document abuses, locate missing people, coordinate medical assistance or verify information, warning that such conditions can allow violence to occur beyond public view.

Parsi said his organization, along with other trusted groups, has been sharing harm-reduction guidance whenever possible, particularly on digital safety, avoiding identification and minimizing risk. He added, however, there is no fully safe way to protest under a system that criminalizes identity and treats dissent as an enemy, noting LGBTQ people, women, students, labor activists, and ethnic and religious minorities are among those facing the greatest danger.

“I also want to be very clear about what kind of international involvement we are calling for. We are against foreign military intervention. Iranians must determine Iran’s future. But we do need international aid and serious diplomatic engagement that is grounded in human rights — not convenience,” said Parsi. “In the past, too often, when Iranians rose up, parts of the international community were distracted by negotiations, ‘promises’ from the Islamic Republic, or short-term deals, and the momentum for human rights was abandoned.” 

“We hope this time no one is fooled,” he added. “The regime is desperately trying to manipulate the narrative through state media and misinformation — to change the course of events and confuse the international community. The world must be smart, vigilant, and principled: do not reward repression with legitimacy, and do not trade away Iranian rights for empty assurances.”

Parsi said the unrest should also be viewed within a broader regional context, noting Iran’s actions beyond its borders have long drawn criticism from governments and analysts who accuse the country of supporting armed groups and contributing to conflicts that have harmed civilians across the Middle East. He said a future Iran that respects human rights domestically and pursues less confrontational policies abroad could have implications not only for Iranians, but for regional and global stability as well, adding many within the country continue to protest despite the personal risks involved.

Soudeh Rad, co-founder and executive director of Spectrum, a France-based NGO that works with Farsi-speaking communities on gender equality and LGBTQ issues, noted to the Blade the latest wave of large-scale protests began in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. They said LGBTQ people, like other marginalized and underrepresented communities, often suffer disproportionate burden under systems of entrenched discrimination.

“Images and testimonials prove the fact that protestors are from all classes, ages, communities, ethnicities, genders, and even with different abilities. This is not a higher-class protest. Obviously, our LGBTQIA+ siblings, of all political tendencies and belongings,” said Rad. “As we can imagine, if their SOGIESC (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics) identity is revealed at the detention centers and prisons, they will be subject to a higher and more intense torture. Police and militia have not hesitated a moment to shoot protestors to kill them. Snipers have been spotted targeting people. Reported numbers of killed and injured people go as high as thousands.”

Rad said recent protest movements have produced gradual social changes in Iran even without formal legal reforms. They cited the “Women, Life, Freedom” movement, noting observers report growing noncompliance with compulsory hijab rules and increased solidarity among ethnic and long-marginalized communities that include Baluchis, Kurds, and Azeris. Rad described the current unrest as part of an ongoing process of social transformation.

Shadi Amin, a director at the LGBTQ rights group 6Rang, said the full impact of the crackdown on LGBTQ activists remains unknown, citing internet shutdowns and limited access to detention centers that have hindered documentation. She said LGBTQ people often face additional barriers to recognition as victims of human rights abuses, because discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity are frequently sidelined during periods of unrest. This omission leaves many cases unacknowledged or erased from public narratives.

Amin also pointed to Iran’s legal framework, under which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death, as a key factor contributing to the long-standing invisibility of LGBTQ people. 

She said the absence of official data makes it impossible to determine how many LGBTQ individuals may have been killed, detained or subjected to abuse during the protests, adding that this lack of recognition has persisted for decades. Amin told the Blade the internet shutdown has also severed regular communication between advocacy groups and LGBTQ people inside Iran, cutting off counseling services and daily contact that had previously provided limited insight into conditions on the ground. She said the loss of communication has made it increasingly difficult to assess the safety of individuals or confirm who remains in detention or has gone missing.

“I have spent almost my entire life fighting for freedom and democracy. Even if we have not yet achieved our ultimate goal, we have made life harder for our oppressors and safer for our community—and that in itself matters,” Amin noted to the Blade. “We seek change and have called for international intervention to uphold the responsibility to stop crimes against humanity, including through Responsibility to Protect (a U.N. principle adopted in 2005); however, top-down regime change or foreign military intervention would silence the movement.” 

“In times of war, weapons — not people — have the final word, and social movements are pushed aside. This is one of our core concerns,” she added. “Another is the risk that even if the current regime is overthrown, it could be replaced by another form of dictatorship — such as a monarchic project represented by the son of the former shah, who has lived in the United States for nearly five decades and lacks democratic legitimacy.”

Amin said LGBTQ activists fear being overlooked amid the broader unrest, emphasizing concerns that ongoing repression and communication blackouts risk pushing LGBTQ experiences further out of public view. She said maintaining international attention remains critical for communities that are often forced into invisibility during periods of crisis.

Matt Forouzandy, president of the 30-Morg Queer Liberation Committee, an NGO focused on LGBTQ issues affecting Iranians inside the country and in the diaspora, confirmed LGBTQ Iranians have participated in the protests since they began. 

He said some queer Iranians publicly expressed support for Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi on social media, sharing posts alongside Iran’s lion and sun flag, while acknowledging the risks they faced before joining demonstrations.

Pahlavi is the son of Iran’s last monarch, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Living in exile, he has in recent years emerged as a symbolic opposition figure for some Iranians abroad, though his role and influence inside the country remain contested.

Forouzandy said LGBTQ people inside Iran have, in some cases, participated more openly in the protests than many observers might expect, citing years of compounded repression under the regime. He said many queer activists use their real names and photographs on X and other social media platforms, rather than operating anonymously. Forouzandy added LGBTQ participants across different regions of the country have publicly expressed opposition to the current system.

Forouzandy said the future legal and civil status of LGBTQ people in Iran would depend on the political direction taken if the current system were to change, including whether outcomes reflect domestic demands or outside influence. He said some protesters have expressed support for a return to monarchical rule, arguing that such a shift could affect prospects for civil rights, though the outcome remains uncertain.

“Iranians in the diaspora — including LGBTQ+ individuals — are doing everything within their capacity to support those inside the country,” said Forouzandy. “However, the most decisive force remains the people inside Iran themselves. Their courage, determination, and collective will are what ultimately shape the outcome.” 

“This is especially true for LGBTQ+ Iranians, who are fighting simultaneously for the liberation of their homeland and for full and equal civil rights within a future free Iran,” he added.

Richard Grenell, the presidential envoy for special missions of the United States, said on X on Tuesday that he has helped “sneak gays and lesbians out of Iran” and is seeing a change in attitudes in the country.

The post, which now has more than 25,000 likes since its uploading, claims that attitudes toward gays and lesbians are shifting amid massive economic protests across the country. 

“For the first time EVER, someone has said ‘I want to wait just a bit,” the former U.S. ambassador to Germany wrote. “There is real hope coming from the inside. I don’t think you can stop this now.”

Grenell has been a longtime supporter of the president.

“Richard Grenell is a fabulous person, A STAR,” Trump posted on Truth Social days before his official appointment to the ambassador role. “He will be someplace, high up! DJT”

Iran, which is experiencing demonstrations across all 31 provinces of the country — including in Tehran, the capital — started as a result of a financial crisis causing the collapse of its national currency. Time magazine credits this uprising after the U.N. re-imposed sanctions in September over the country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons.

As basic necessities like bread, rice, meat, and medical supplies become increasingly unaffordable to the majority of the more than 90 million people living there, citizens took to the streets to push back against Iran’s theocratic regime.

Grenell, who was made president and executive director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts last year by Trump, believes that people in the majority Shiite Muslim country are also beginning to protest human rights abuses.

Iran is among only a handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Iran and Egypt have objected to playing in a “Pride Match” that will take place in Seattle during the 2026 World Cup.

The Egyptian Football Association on Tuesday said it told FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström in a letter that “it categorically rejects holding any activities related to supporting (homosexuality) during the match between the Egyptian national team and Iran, scheduled to be held in Seattle, USA, on June 26, 2026, in the third round of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup.” Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Mehdi Taj told ISNA, a semi-official Iranian news agency that both his country and Egypt “protested this issue.”

The 2026 World Cup will take place in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. The draw took place at the Kennedy Center on Dec. 5.

Iran is among the handful of countries in which consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death.

The State Department’s 2023 human rights report notes that while Egyptian law “did not explicitly criminalize consensual same-sex sexual activity, authorities regularly arrested and prosecuted LGBTQI+ persons on charges including ‘debauchery,’ prostitution, and ‘violating family values.’” Egyptian authorities “also reportedly prosecuted LGBTQI+ individuals for ‘misuse of social media.’”

“This resulted in de facto criminalization of same-sex conduct and identity,” notes the report.

The 2024 human rights report the State Department released earlier this year did not include LGBTQ-specific references.

Soccer has ‘unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs’

The June 26 match between Iran and Egypt coincides with Seattle Pride. The Washington Post reported the Seattle FIFA World Cup 2026 Local Organizing Committee decided to hold the “Pride Match” before last week’s draw.

“As the Local Organizing Committee, SeattleFWC26’s role is to prepare our city to host the matches and manage the city experience outside of Seattle Stadium,” said SeattleFWC26 Vice President of Communications Hana Tadesse in a statement the committee sent to the Washington Blade on Wednesday. “SeattleFWC26 is moving forward as planned with our community programming outside the stadium during Pride weekend and throughout the tournament, partnering with LGBTQ+ leaders, artists, and business owners to elevate existing Pride celebrations across Washington.”

“Football has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures, and beliefs,” added Tadeese. “The Pacific Northwest is home to one of the nation’s largest Iranian-American communities, a thriving Egyptian diaspora, and rich communities representing all nations we’re hosting in Seattle. We’re committed to ensuring all residents and visitors experience the warmth, respect, and dignity that defines our region.”

The 2034 World Cup will take place in Saudi Arabia.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations remain punishable by death in the country. The 2022 World Cup took place in neighboring Qatar, despite concerns over the country’s anti-LGBTQ rights record.