The death toll in violence surrounding protests in Iran has risen to at least 35 people, activists said yesterday, as the demonstrations showed no signs of stopping.
The figure came from the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which said more than 1,200 people have been detained in the protests, which have been ongoing for more than a week.
It said 29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed.
Photo: Reuters
The group, which relies on an activist network inside Iran for its reporting, has been accurate in past unrest.
The Fars news agency, believed to be close to Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, reported late on Monday that 250 police officers and 45 members of the Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force have been hurt in the demonstrations.
The growing death toll carries with it the chance of US intervention, with US President Donald Trump on Friday last week warning that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters,” the US “will come to their rescue.”
While it remains unclear how and if Trump would intervene, his comments sparked an immediate, angry response, with officials within the theocracy threatening to target US troops in the Middle East.
The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the protests have yet to be as widespread and intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab.
Iran has faced rounds of nationwide protests. As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after a 12-day war with Israel, its currency collapsed last month and the protests began soon after.
Understanding the scale of this latest round of protests has been difficult. Iranian state media has provided little information about the demonstrations. Online videos offer only brief, shaky glimpses of people in the streets or the sound of gunfire. Journalists in Iran also face limits on reporting in general, such as requiring permission to travel around the nation.
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