iran-authorities-put-protest-related-death-toll-at-3-117

Iranian authorities have come out with the death toll in violent protests that marred the country for more than three weeks since starting on December 28 last year.

According to the state-owned Tasnim news agency, 3,117 people lost their lives, including security personnel, in what it described were “recent foreign-backed acts of terrorism”.

Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has also acknowledged that “thousands” of people have been killed – some of them in what he said was an “inhuman, savage manner” – during weeks of unrest across the country. 

This is the first time that the authorities have publicly acknowledged and announced the fatalities since anti-government demonstrations erupted against an ailing economy, hyperinflation and a repressive regime.

However, international news organisations and human rights groups peg the deaths at a much higher number that crosses 5,000. A Norway-based Iran Human Rights organisation estimated the death toll to be at 3,400.

 

Also Read: Protests surge in Iran amid internet clampdown; death toll rises

Authorities had also restricted internet access across the country from January 8 onwards, making it difficult for the international community to track the latest developments related to the protests. 

But, normalcy seems to have returned to the country since last Friday after the regime undertook a bloody crackdown on protesters.

 

No major protests have been reported in less than a week now, with the Iranian government declaring that the demonstrations were under control.

Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, warned the United States on Thursday against inciting protesters or attacking Iran, saying, “Tehran would fire back with everything we have if it comes under renewed attack.” 

In an article published by a prominent US media outlet, Araghchi wrote: “Unlike the restraint Iran showed in June 2025, our powerful armed forces have no qualms about firing back with everything we have if we come under renewed attack.” 

“This isn’t a threat, but a reality I feel I need to convey explicitly, because as a diplomat and a veteran, I abhor war,” he added.