Introduced in Senate — S.Res. 606

III

119th CONGRESS

2d Session

S. RES. 606

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 11, 2026

Mr. Lankford (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Booker, Mr. Boozman, Mrs. Britt, Mr. Budd, Mrs. Capito, Mr. Cramer, Mr. Cruz, Ms. Ernst, Mrs. Fischer, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Hoeven, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Mullin, Mr. Ricketts, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Sullivan, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Schumer, Mr. McConnell, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Kim, and Mr. Durbin) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

RESOLUTION

Condemning the Government of Iran for its suppression of the right of Iranians to peacefully assemble.

Whereas, on December 28, 2025, protests began in Iran in response to enduring economic hardship;

Whereas, in December 2025, the annual inflation rate in Iran reached 42.2 percent;

Whereas, on December 29, 2025, the Iranian rial hit a record low of 1,430,000 Iranian rials per one United States dollar, further causing economic strife for everyday Iranians;

Whereas the protests have spread throughout Iran’s capital of Tehran, all 31 provinces of Iran, and at least 100 other cities and towns nationwide in the country’s largest protests since 2022;

Whereas the first deaths were recorded on January 1, 2026, when at least seven protestors were shot and killed;

Whereas, on January 3, 2026, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that rioters must be put in their place;

Whereas, beginning on January 8, 2026, the Iranian regime implemented near-total internet blackouts across the country, including both intranet access and external internet access as well as cellular services;

Whereas the Iranian regime uses censorship and internet blackouts as a tool of repression against the Iranian people;

Whereas the United States has long supported tools to ensure Iranians have access to the means to circumvent the censorship of the regime and access to news and information free of the regime’s interference, including through the Open Technology Fund, Radio Farda, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks;

Whereas, on January 10, 2026, the Attorney General of Iran, Mohammad Movahedi Azad, said that anyone taking part in protests and those who helped rioters would be considered an enemy of God, a capital offense in Iran;

Whereas, as of February 10, 2026, there have been at least 6,126 deaths, with credible reporting of up to 30,000 deaths, including 86 children and 49 civilians who were not demonstrating, and 41,800 arrests of protestors have been reported;

Whereas hospitals, medical centers, and morgues have been overwhelmed with injured and dead protestors;

Whereas medical professionals inside Iran have reported receiving hundreds of patients who were injured by live rounds of ammunition from security forces;

Whereas Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei holds ultimate authority over Iran's security agencies and has overseen and orchestrated countless human rights violations against Iranian citizens and dissidents since 1989;

Whereas the Iranian regime has used its security forces to crack down on protests through violent means, including through extrajudicial killings—

(1)

in 1999, when at least three students were killed, several students disappeared, and at least 1,500 people were arrested following passage by the Iranian Parliament of censorship legislation and the subsequent closure of a reformist newspaper;

(2)

in 2009, when dozens of people were killed and opposition candidates were arrested following protests over fraudulent elections;

(3)

in 2017, when protests began as a result of increasing food prices and the deepening economic crisis, resulting in 20 deaths and hundreds of arrests;

(4)

in 2019, when Iranian security forces killed approximately 1,500 people and detained 8,600 in response to protests over fuel; and

(5)

in 2022, when more than 500 protestors were killed and 22,000 were detained after Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of the Morality Police after being detained for wearing a hijab improperly, prompting thousands of women to lead the Women, Life, Freedom effort in the streets of Iran;

Whereas the regime has a history of disproportionately cracking down on religious and ethnic minorities, including Christians, Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Jews, Sunnis, agnostics and Kurds;

Whereas Iranian civilians' unprecedented nationwide protests and bravery, confronted with the regime's unprecedented widespread extrajudicial killing of thousands and disruption of all electronic communication, have profoundly destabilized the country and constitute changed conditions in Iran;

Whereas the regime continues to persecute citizens who it disagrees with by using criminal statutes like insulting the Prophet,insulting Islam,rebellion against God, and corruption on earth;

Whereas the Government of Iran continues to attempt to suppress protestors, including through means of—

(1)

extrajudicial killings;

(2)

forced disappearances;

(3)

torture;

(4)

sexual and gender-based violence;

(5)

arbitrary detention and imprisonment;

(6)

severe restrictions on free expression;

(7)

internet blackouts, censorship, and prohibition of virtual private networks;

(8)

criminalization of libel; and

(9)

severe restrictions of religious freedom; and

Whereas the people of Iran have continued to fight for their basic human rights in the face of violence and oppression: Now, therefore, be it

That the Senate—

(1)

strongly condemns the Government of Iran’s continued killing of protestors and bystanders;

(2)

condemns the Government of Iran for its suppression of Iranians' basic human rights, including their right to peacefully assemble;

(3)

commends the courage of the Iranian people to protest amid increased and harsh persecution from the Government of Iran;

(4)

calls on the Government of Iran to hold free and fair elections and allow the people of Iran to determine their own future; and

(5)

supports the calls of the Iranian people to bring human rights violators to justice.