Marking one of the first visits by a Chinese scholar to Iran since the country’s violent nationwide protests that left thousands dead, Fan Hongda, one of China’s most prominent Iran scholars and director of the China-Middle East Institute at Shaoxing University in Zhejiang province, revealed the mixed feelings in Iranian society and said the unrest was far more serious than widely perceived.
Fan, in his latest column published on the nationalist online news portal Guancha.com, reflected that some Iranians felt betrayed by the United States after President Donald Trump opened peace talks with Tehran.
“Far More Severe”
Iran was rocked by months-long protests beginning late last year, initially triggered by a deepening cost-of-living crisis. The unrest quickly escalated into the most violent demonstrations in the Islamic Republic’s history.
The protests unfolded against the backdrop of heightened US pressure on Iran, coming just as then US President Donald Trump seized Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro, fuelling speculation that Tehran itself could be facing a regime change.
In his column of Guancha.com, Fan recorded his stay in Iran after the protest, he noted that the capital is now subject to stricter social controls, including tighter photography restrictions and expanded overseas internet bans, the remnants of buildings and shops destroyed, something that he never observed in protests before.
“All of this made me acutely aware that the turmoil and shock Iran has just experienced were far more severe than I had imagined while in China,” Fan wrote to the state-backed nationalist media.
The historic death toll of 3,117 far exceeded that of any previous protest in the history of the Islamic Republic, Fan said. “As a result, January 8 and 9, 2026, are certain to remain dates that Iranians will find difficult to forget — or to come to terms with.”
Iranians Feel Betrayed
Beyond economic reasons, Fan said the US and Israel’s “incitement” is also a crucial reason behind the extremely violent protest, and this is the reason why some Iranians are feeling “betrayed” when Washington decided to sit at the negotiation table.
He said “external actors” have shown strong enthusiasm for “stirring up internal unrest in Iran”, and because of this, Washington’s softening approach even further angered Iranians in the street.
“External actors have shown strong enthusiasm for stirring up internal unrest in Iran…This has left public sentiment inside Iran deeply complex, with Washington’s expressed willingness to engage in talks with Tehran triggering anger rather than relief among some Iranians,” Fan wrote.
“After paying a heavy price for the unrest, many Iranians now see the United States, which had earlier encouraged opposition to the Islamic Republic, choosing instead to sit down with Iran’s government. To them, it has reinforced a sense that they have once again been misled.”
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? As one of the first Chinese scholars to visit Iran after the protests, Fan Hongda’s observations offer rare, first-hand insight into conditions inside the Islamic Republic. More broadly, they reflect a prominent strand of thinking among prominent Chinese scholars on Iran and current US-Iran negotiations, perspectives that could ultimately shape Beijing’s policy calculations.
