Human rights monitors say at least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran amid a sweeping security crackdown, as mass demonstrations challenge the Islamic republic despite an extended internet blackout.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
At least 192 protesters have been killed during Iran’s largest anti-government movement in more than three years, according to a human rights organization, as mounting evidence and eyewitness accounts fuel warnings that authorities are carrying out a deadly crackdown to suppress the unrest.
The protests, which began over rising living costs, have rapidly evolved into a nationwide challenge to the theocratic system established after Iran’s 1979 revolution. Now entering their second week, the demonstrations represent one of the most serious tests to the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, particularly following Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran in June that was backed by the United States.
Norway-based Iran Human Rights said Sunday it had confirmed at least 192 protester deaths since the demonstrations began, cautioning that the true toll may be far higher. “The deaths may be even more extensive than we currently imagine,” the group said.
Protests have continued to swell despite an internet blackout that has lasted more than 60 hours, according to NetBlocks, which warned the shutdown has sharply limited the flow of information and obscured the scale of the violence. Activists say the communications cutoff has made it nearly impossible to verify casualties in real time.
Video footage verified by Agence France-Presse showed large crowds demonstrating Saturday night in Tehran and other cities, including Mashhad in eastern Iran, where vehicles were seen burning in the streets. Other circulating videos, not independently verified, appeared to show families identifying bodies of slain protesters inside a Tehran morgue.
The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said it had received eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicating that hundreds may have been killed nationwide during the blackout. “A massacre is unfolding in Iran. The world must act now to prevent further loss of life,” the group said, adding that hospitals were overwhelmed, blood supplies were running low, and some protesters had been shot in the eyes as part of what it described as a deliberate tactic.
Another monitoring group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported confirming 116 deaths linked to the unrest, including 37 members of security forces or other officials.
Iranian state television on Sunday broadcast images of funeral processions for security personnel killed during recent unrest, while officials condemned what they described as “riots” and “vandalism.” National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said authorities carried out “significant” arrests of protest figures Saturday night, without providing numbers or identities.
Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani distinguished between protests over economic hardship, which he called “completely understandable,” and what he labeled “riots,” accusing participants of using methods “very similar to terrorist groups,” according to Tasnim news agency.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also warned against further unrest, saying “rioters” must not disrupt Iranian society. “The people should believe that we want to establish justice,” he said in remarks aired by state broadcaster IRIB.
In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city nearing paralysis. Meat prices have nearly doubled since the protests began, many shops remain closed, and those that do open typically shut by late afternoon as security forces deploy heavily in the streets.
Exiled opposition figure Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted shah, called for continued demonstrations and urged protesters not to retreat. “Do not abandon the streets. My heart is with you,” he said, promising to stand with them.
International reactions have sharpened as the death toll rises. President Donald Trump has voiced support for the protesters and warned that the United States would intervene if Iranian authorities began “killing people.” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged the European Union to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization over the violence, saying Israel supports the Iranian people’s “struggle for freedom.”
Iranian officials, however, issued warnings of retaliation. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Iran would strike back if the United States launched military action. “In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory and centres of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets,” he said on state television, an apparent reference to Israel as well.
As protests persist under blackout conditions, rights groups and foreign governments continue to warn that the situation inside Iran is deteriorating rapidly, with the full human cost still unknown.
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