Hackers disrupt Iran state TV to support exiled crown prince as deaths
from crackdown exceed 4,000
[January 20, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Hackers disrupted Iranian state
television satellite transmissions to air footage supporting the
country's exiled crown prince and calling on security forces to not
“point your weapons at the people,” online video showed early Monday,
the latest disruption to follow nationwide protests in the country.
The hacking comes as the death toll in a crackdown by authorities that
smothered the demonstrations reached at least 4,029 people, activists
said. They fear the number will grow far higher as information leaks out
of a country still gripped by the government's decision to shut down the
internet. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had his invitation to
speak at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland, withdrawn over
the killings.
Meanwhile, tensions remain high between the United States and Iran over
the crackdown after President Donald Trump drew two red lines for the
Islamic Republic — the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran
conducting mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations. A U.S.
aircraft carrier, which days earlier had been in the South China Sea,
passed Singapore overnight to enter the Strait of Malacca — putting it
on a route that could bring it to the Middle East.
State TV disrupted
The footage aired Sunday night across multiple channels broadcast by
satellite from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, the country's
state broadcaster. The video aired two clips of exiled Crown Prince Reza
Pahlavi, then included footage of security forces and others in what
appeared to be Iranian police uniforms. It claimed without offering
evidence others had “laid down their weapons and swore an oath of
allegiance to the people.”
“This is a message to the army and security forces,” one graphic read.
“Don't point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom
of Iran.”
The semiofficial Fars news agency, believed to be close to the country's
paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, quoted a statement from the state
broadcaster acknowledging that the signal in “some areas of the country
was momentarily disrupted by an unknown source.” It did not discuss what
had been aired.
A statement from Pahlavi's office acknowledged the disruption that
showed the crown prince. It did not respond to questions from The
Associated Press about the hack. How much support Pahlavi has inside of
Iran remains an open question, though there have been pro-shah cries at
the demonstrations and at night since the crackdown.
Sunday's hack isn't the first to see Iranian airwaves disrupted. In
1986, The Washington Post reported that the CIA supplied the prince’s
allies “a miniaturized television transmitter for an 11-minute
clandestine broadcast” to Iran by Pahlavi that pirated the signal of two
stations in the Islamic Republic.
In 2022, multiple channels aired footage showing leaders from the exiled
opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and a graphic calling for the death
of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
US aircraft carrier possibly on path to Mideast
As tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington, ship-tracking
data analyzed by the AP on Monday showed the USS Abraham Lincoln
aircraft carrier, as well as other American military vessels, in the
Strait of Malacca after passing Singapore on a route that could take
them to the Middle East.
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The Lincoln had been in the South China Sea with its strike group as
a deterrent to China over tensions with Taiwan. Tracking data showed
that the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy and the
USS Spruance, all Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers,
were traveling with the Lincoln through the strait.
Multiple U.S. media reports quoting anonymous officials have said
the Lincoln, which has its homeport in San Diego, was on its way to
the Mideast. It likely would still need several days of travel
before its aircraft would be in range of the region. The Mideast has
been without an aircraft carrier group or an amphibious ready group,
likely complicating any discussion of a military operation targeting
Iran given Gulf Arab states' broad opposition to such an attack.
Meanwhile, the World Economic Forum withdrew its invitation for
Araghchi to speak at Davos.
“Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of
civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right
for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,”
the forum said.
Araghchi denounced the decision, saying the forum “cancelled my
appearance in Davos on the basis of lies and political pressure from
Israel and its U.S.-based proxies and apologists."
The Munich Security Conference separately withdrew invitation for
Iranian government officials over the crackdown.
Death toll from crackdown rises
The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest
in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979
revolution. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put
the death toll Tuesday to at least 4,029, warning it likely would go
higher.
It said of the dead, 3,786 were demonstrators, 180 were security
forces, 28 were children and 35 were people not demonstrating.
The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations
and unrest in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the
country that confirms all reported fatalities. The AP has been
unable to independently confirm the toll.
Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on
Saturday, Khamenei said the protests had left “several thousand”
people dead and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the
first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the
casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran’s
ailing economy.
The agency also reported over 26,000 people had been arrested.
Comments from officials have led to fears of some of those detained
being put to death in Iran, one of the world's top executioners.
“While the killers and seditious terrorists will be punished,
Islamic mercy and leniency will be applied to those who were
deceived and did not have (effective) roles in the terrorist event,"
a statement Monday from Iran's president, its judiciary chief and
parliament speaker said.
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Associated Press writer Elena Becatoros contributed to this report.
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