China’s Uyghur Surveillance Technology Used by Iran to Track Protesters

Iran is deploying Chinese Uyghur surveillance technology, originally tested in East Turkistan, to monitor and suppress street protests

By Alp

January 16، 2026

On December 28, protests began in Iran over the ongoing economic crisis and have steadily intensified, facing violent crackdowns. According to estimates, a total of 2,571 people have lost their lives since the protests started. In the Iranian government’s efforts to strengthen its capacity to suppress its own people, advanced surveillance systems provided by Chinese companies are playing a significant role.

According to a report by Newsweek, China’s artificial intelligence (AI)-based facial recognition technology and digital surveillance systems are being extensively used in Iran to identify and track protesters. The report emphasizes that Chinese companies are systematically exporting the “digital repression model” they previously tested in East Turkistan—used to monitor and control millions of Uyghurs under heavy surveillance—to Iran.

The suppression technologies employed by the Iranian government come from Tiandy, a Tianjin-based tech giant. According to the company’s website, Tiandy provides AI, big data, and cloud computing solutions to over 500 cities in China. Internationally, its surveillance products are used in locations including London’s Heathrow Airport, Turkey’s border regions, and Egyptian railways.

However, according to the international tech watchdog IPVM, Tiandy has openly marketed not only its surveillance systems but also “Tiger Chairs,” designed for torturing and immobilizing prisoners.

Previously, Reuters and other reputable sources revealed that Chinese companies such as Tiandy, Hikvision, and Dahua had developed “Uyghur tracking” systems that automatically identify individuals based on their ethnic identity. Today, these technologies are being used on the streets of Iran to restrict protesters’ freedom.

Tiandy was added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in 2022 for providing technical support to the Chinese Communist Party’s repression policies. Observers note that China’s sale of such digital repression tools to the Iranian regime marks a new, dangerous stage of global digital authoritarianism.