Iranian refugee’s viral act of defiance spreads amid regime crackdown

A viral video exhibiting an Iranian refugee lighting a cigarette with a burning picture of Iran’s supreme chief has grow to be a world flashpoint as protests rock the Islamic Republic and President Donald Trump weighs navy motion in opposition to the regime.

The Related Press reported that the 34-second video exhibits a lady believed to be residing in Canada lighting a photograph of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — a capital crime in Iran — earlier than calmly lighting a cigarette and dropping the picture to the bottom.

The pictures accompanying this story present protesters recreating the act throughout demonstrations outdoors Iran, not the girl from the unique viral video.

The pictures have unfold shortly on social media because the Iranian authorities carries out a violent crackdown on dissent that activists say has left 1000’s lifeless.

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A protester burns a picture of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with a cigarette throughout a rally in help of nationwide anti-government demonstrations in Iran, Tuesday, January 13, 2026 in Zurich, Switzerland. (Michael Buholzer/Keystone through AP)

The video has been shared tens of millions of instances on platforms together with X, Instagram and Reddit, with many viewers seeing it as a grim act of defiance in opposition to Iran’s religious rulers.

Others have questioned whether or not the second was spontaneous or staged, highlighting the rising skepticism surrounding viral photographs in an age of synthetic intelligence and data warfare.

What’s undisputed is the symbolism of the motion. In Iran, burning a picture of Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is punishable by loss of life.

Smoking in public is taken into account indecent and girls are legally required to put on hijabs. Within the brief fragment, the girl defies all three norms directly and seems with no headband, whereas her hair hangs near the flame.

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A protester smokes a cigarette after lighting it on a burning poster of Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei throughout an indication in Berlin, Germany, in help of Iran’s nationwide mass protests in opposition to the federal government, on January 14, 2026. The picture doesn’t present the girl featured within the unique viral video, which was shot in Canada. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Picture)

The gesture has jumped from the digital world to the actual one. Pictures and movies have emerged from protests in Europe, Israel and the US, exhibiting demonstrators lighting cigarettes with photographs of Khamenei, recreating what has grow to be identified on-line because the “cigarette woman” second.

Iran’s state media has introduced wave after wave of arrests concentrating on these they name “terrorists” and seizing Starlink satellite tv for pc web tools – ​​typically the one approach for movies to flee the nation throughout government-imposed web blackouts.

Activists say the regime has intensified repression in current weeks as unrest spreads amid financial collapse and political instability.

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Protesters burn a poster depicting Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei throughout a rally in help of anti-government protests in Iran, in Holon, Israel, on January 14, 2026. (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP Picture)

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The AP reported that the girl has described herself in interviews with different media as an Iranian refugee residing in Toronto, and that she fled Iran after repeated arrests and beatings by safety forces.

She filmed the video on January 7, in line with The AP – a day earlier than Iran imposed a near-total web blackout. She did this to indicate solidarity with “associates” within the nation, she stated. She has requested that her actual title not be revealed, fearing for her security and for relations remaining in Iran.

The videos The explosive attain underlines how social media has grow to be a central battlefield in fashionable battle, with photographs shaping international perceptions quicker than governments can management them.

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As Trump weighs subsequent steps towards Tehran, the clip has grow to be greater than a viral second: It has grow to be an emblem of resistance, management and the excessive stakes of dissent below authoritarian rule.

The Related Press contributed to this report.