Iran protests turn deadly with 538 killed. Photos: X.
The death toll from Iran’s ongoing nationwide protests has continued to rise sharply as demonstrations against the Islamic Republic enter a more violent phase. Activists now estimate that at least 538 people have been killed in the regime’s crackdown, according to figures released by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).
The organisation further reported that more than 10,600 people have been detained since the protests erupted.
Of those killed, 490 were protesters, while 48 were members of Iran’s security forces, HRANA said.
With internet services shut down and phone lines cut across much of Iran, monitoring developments from outside the country has become increasingly difficult. HRANA said the communications blackout has severely limited access to independent information.
Also Read: Iran Protests Turn Deadly: 538 Killed Amid Crackdown, Internet Blackout, and Rising US Tensions
Despite these challenges, the activist group noted that it relies on a network of activists inside Iran who cross-check information, and it has previously provided accurate casualty figures during earlier periods of unrest.
The Iranian government has not released any official nationwide casualty figures related to the protests.
Over the weekend, investigative outlet IranWire published accounts from doctors and activists suggesting a hardening of the regime’s response beginning in the middle of last week.
According to the report, protesters were shot in the head and neck on Thursday and Friday nights. IranWire also cited an increase in reports of security forces firing down at demonstrators from rooftops.
One particularly harrowing incident was reported following a protest in Qala Hassan Khan, an area west of Tehran, on Thursday. A single surgeon treated six patients who had been shot in the head, none of them survived.
Footage circulated on social media on Sunday showed a grieving family member holding the crushed remains of a metal bullet removed from the skull of a loved one.
Medical professionals have described hospitals as overwhelmed with both the dead and wounded. One eye hospital was reportedly forced into “crisis mode” due to the sheer number of patients who had lost one or both eyes as a result of gunfire.
Alongside the intensifying violence, the Iranian regime’s language has also shifted. Authorities have reportedly stopped referring to demonstrators as “rioters” and are now calling them “terrorists.”
Reports indicate that young people are not being spared in the crackdown.
Following a shooting at a demonstration in Najafabad, parents rushed to a nearby hospital, only to find the bodies of their children, according to a medical source cited in reports.
On the international front, former US President Donald Trump has reportedly been briefed on multiple options for potential strikes on Iran, after stating that he was “ready to help” protesters facing the regime’s crackdown.
While Trump has not yet made a final decision, sources close to him told The New York Times that he is considering authorising a strike in response to what has been described as the regime’s brutal suppression of demonstrations.
Officials told the newspaper that Trump has been presented with several options, including strikes on non-military sites in Tehran.
As fears grow that hundreds of protesters may have been killed over the weekend, Iran has issued strong warnings to both the United States and Israel.
Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf delivered the warning during a speech in parliament in Tehran, as lawmakers chanted “death to America.”
“In the event of an attack on Iran, both the occupied territory and all American military centers, bases and ships in the region will be our legitimate targets,” Qalibaf said.
He added, “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.”
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Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
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