The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran surpassed 2,000 people on Tuesday, activists said, as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the primary time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators.
The variety of dead climbed to a minimum of 2,003, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That figure dwarfs the death toll from some other round of protest or unrest in Iran in a long time and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Iranian state television offered the primary official acknowledgment of the deaths, quoting an official saying the country had “a whole lot of martyrs” and that it didn’t release a toll earlier due to the dead suffering gruesome injuries. Nevertheless, that statement got here only after activists reported their toll.
The demonstrations began slightly over two weeks ago in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and shortly targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Khamenei’s death — something that would carry a death sentence.
Soon after the brand new death toll became public, U.S. President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”
He added: “I actually have cancelled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.” Trump didn’t give details.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, chatting with the Qatar-funded satellite news network Al Jazeera in an interview aired Monday night, said he had continued to speak with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff.
But after Trump’s message Tuesday, top Iranian security official Ali Larijani responded by writing: “We declare the names of the foremost killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2-” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The activist group said 1,850 of the dead were protesters and 135 were government-affiliated. Nine children were killed, together with nine civilians it said weren’t participating in protests. Greater than 16,700 people have been detained, the group said.
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With the web down in Iran, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown tougher. The AP has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.
Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the brand new toll was shocking, particularly because it reached 4 times the death toll of the monthslong 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in only two weeks.
She warned that the toll would still rise: “We’re horrified, but we still think the number is conservative.”
Speaking by phone for the primary time since their calls were cut off from the skin world, Iranian witnesses described a heavy security presence in central Tehran, burned-out government buildings, smashed ATMs and few passersby. Meanwhile, people were concerned about what comes next, including the potential of a U.S. attack.
“My customers speak about Trump’s response while wondering if he plans a military strike against the Islamic Republic,” said shopkeeper Mahmoud, who gave only his first name out of concern for his safety. “I don’t expect Trump or some other foreign country cares concerning the interests of Iranians.”
Reza, a taxi driver who also gave just his first name, said protests are on many individuals’s minds. “People — particularly young ones — are hopeless, but they speak about continuing the protests,” he said.
Several people in Tehran were in a position to call the AP on Tuesday and speak to a journalist. The AP bureau in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was unable to call those numbers back. Witnesses said text messaging was still down, and web users in Iran could connect with government-approved web sites locally but nothing abroad.
Anti-riot law enforcement officials wore helmets and body armor while carrying batons, shields, shotguns and tear gas launchers, in accordance with the witnesses. Police stood watch at major intersections. Nearby, witnesses saw members of the Revolutionary Guard’s all-volunteer Basij force, who carried firearms and batons. Security officials in plainclothes were visible in public spaces.
Several banks and government offices were burned through the unrest, witnesses said. Banks struggled to finish transactions without the web, they added.
Shops were open, though there was little foot traffic within the capital. Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where the demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of Iran’s rial currency, opened Tuesday. A witness described chatting with multiple shopkeepers who said security forces ordered them to reopen regardless of what. Iranian state media didn’t acknowledge that order.
The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.
It also appeared that security service personnel were trying to find Starlink terminals, as people in northern Tehran reported authorities raiding apartment buildings with satellite dishes. While satellite television dishes are illegal, many within the capital have them in homes, and officials broadly had given up on enforcing the law in recent times.
On the streets, people also could possibly be seen difficult plainclothes security officials, who were stopping passersby at random.
State television also read an announcement about mortuary and morgue services being free — a signal that some likely charged high fees for the discharge of bodies amid the crackdown.
Khamenei, in an announcement carried by state TV, praised the tens of hundreds who took part in pro-government demonstrations nationwide on Monday.
“This was a warning to American politicians to stop their deceit and never depend on traitorous mercenaries,” he said. “The Iranian nation is powerful and powerful and aware of the enemy.”
State TV on Monday aired chants from the group, which appeared to number within the tens of hundreds. They chanted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!” Others cried out, “Death to the enemies of God!” Iran’s attorney general has warned that anyone participating in protests will probably be considered an “enemy of God,” a death-penalty charge.