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Kaveh is an organization formed by Iranian anti-government protesters on social media against the government forces, following the 2026 Iran massacres.

The 2025-2026 Iranian protests began in Tehran on December 28, 2025, and quickly spread across the country, as a reaction to the deep economic crisis and authoritarian governance practices in Iran. The rapidly rising inflation, increasing food prices, the depreciation of the rial, and widespread human rights violations in Iran formed the main reasons for the protests. Initially led by small business owners, the protests expanded with the participation of university students. Protesters chanted anti-government slogans targeting the religious leader Ali Khamenei. According to Iran International, approximately 36,500 people were killed by government security forces during the repression of the protests.^[1]

The protests in Iran were violently suppressed by the government, escalating into a massacre. Government forces intervened by using live ammunition against the protesters.^[2] It was reported that protesters hospitalized during the crackdown were executed.^[3][4] Additionally, the use of chemical weapons,^[5] the deployment of foreign militias,^[6] arbitrary executions,^[7] torture and sexual violence,^[8][9] and mistreatment of bodies of the deceased^[10] have been reported. These methods were intended to violently suppress the protests and create a deterrent environment against opposition.^[11]

Kaveh uses video and image content on YouTube and Instagram platforms to identify and expose the locations of government officials and their families who are accused by protesters of spilling their blood. The account, managed by protesters, calls on the people of Iran to take to the streets and personally take revenge on the government officials who have shed the blood of the protesters.^[12]

The content on the account also includes advice on how protesters can identify government officials disguised as protesters who wear the same colors to blend in, how they can protect themselves from the violence of government forces, and how they can continue protesting without revealing their identities. Kaveh encourages the people of Iran to engage in anti-government activism on social media using VPN despite the internet blackout in Iran.^[12]

On January 12, 2026, the Turkish Yeni Şafak newspaper reported that the anti-government protests in Iran had taken on a new dimension, targeting security forces and high-ranking officials. The article stated that protesters were using a "tagging" method by exposing the home addresses of officials on social media, aiming to exert psychological pressure. The report also highlighted the death of Colonel Mahdi Rahimi, a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in an attack on his house in the Malikshahi area, noting that this incident occurred as a reaction to the violence during the protests. Although the name of the account Kaveh was not mentioned in the news text, the logos and name of this anti-government account were clearly visible in the images and screenshots used to enrich the content of the article.^[13]

The use of the name Kaveh is derived from the Iranian and Kurdish folk legend of Kaveh. The myth of Kaveh the Blacksmith (Persian: کاوه آهنگر, transliterated: Kaveh Ahenger, Kurdish: Kawayê Hesinkar) can be summarized as follows:

King Dehak, who ruled over the Iranian lands, was a notorious tyrant known for his cruelty and oppression of the people. Over time, a tumor developed in Dehak's brain, and he contracted a fatal disease. The physicians of the time recommended using children's brains as a balm to relieve his pain and heal his wound. As a result, a bloody massacre unfolded in Iran, with young people being forcibly taken every day to have their brains used to treat Dehak's injury. During this time, the blacksmith Kaveh, who had lost seventeen sons, saw his youngest son taken next.^[14]

As young people were taken every day by Dehak's soldiers, Kaveh began to develop the idea of rebellion and shared his plan with a few trusted individuals. Using his blacksmith skills, he forged weapons and also trained those who would join the resistance. This movement gradually spread, and on the night between March 20 and 21, the resistance led by Kaveh began. That night, the king's palace was captured, and the uprising continued throughout the regions controlled by Dehak. The rebels communicated by lighting fires on the mountains. With the end of the uprising, the people under Kaveh's leadership overthrew Dehak and his regime. The people, rejoicing, ascended the mountains and celebrated around the fires.^[14]