Rights group says Iran protest toll nears 6,000 dead
By AFP
January 26, 2026
The death toll from Iran's protest movement has been rising,
Iranians struggle as internet shutdown hits livelihoodsBy AFP
January 26, 2026
The death toll from Iran's protest movement has been rising,
according to figures from NGOs - Copyright AFP Yasin AKGUL
Stuart Williams
A US-based rights group said on Monday it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people during a wave of protests in Iran suppressed by security forces, as Tehran warned Washington against intervening.
The protests started in late December, driven by economic grievances, but turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street demonstrations for several days from January 8.
But rights groups have accused authorities of launching an unprecedented crackdown by shooting directly at the protesters under the cover of an internet shutdown that has now lasted an unprecedented 18 days.
The clerical leadership who took power after the 1979 Islamic revolution remains in place despite the protests, with many opponents of the system looking to outside intervention as the most likely driver of change.
US President Donald Trump had appeared to step back from military intervention, but has since insisted it remains an option.
He said last week that Washington was sending a “massive fleet” to the region “just in case”. Iran’s foreign ministry warned on Monday of a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response to any aggression”.
NGOs tracking the toll from the crackdown have said their task has been impeded by the internet shutdown, warning that confirmed figures are likely to be far lower than the actual toll.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 5,848 people had been killed, including 209 members of the security forces. But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities.
At least 41,283 people have been arrested, it said. Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities last week said 3,117 people were killed, the majority of whom it described as members of the security forces or innocent bystanders killed by “rioters”.
– ‘Reap the whirlwind’ –
Confirming that the internet blackout remains in place, monitor Netblocks said the shutdown was “obscuring the extent of a deadly crackdown on civilians”.
“Gaps in the filternet are being tightened to limit circumvention while whitelisted regime accounts promote the Islamic Republic’s narrative,” it added.
Over the weekend, Persian-language TV channel Iran International, which is based outside Iran, said more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces from January 8 to 9, citing reports, documents and sources. It was not immediately possible to verify the report.
Meanwhile, the US was massing forces in the region with Trump keeping open the possibility of military intervention, having threatened Tehran at the height of the protests.
Trump said last week:”I’d rather not see anything happen but we’re watching them very closely.”
US media reported that Washington has sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region.
The US briefly joined Israel’s war against Iran in June, striking its nuclear facilities. Israel also targeted Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and killed several senior Iranian security officials during 12 days of air strikes.
In Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned against intervention and said Iran was “confident in its own capabilities”.
In apparent reference to the Lincoln, he added: “The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran’s determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation.”
Meanwhile, a new anti-US billboard has appeared in the central Enghelab Square in Tehran, appearing to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.
“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” the English-language slogan read.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last appeared in public on January 17, warning in a speech broadcast on state television that authorities would “break the back of the seditionists”.
In Lebanon, Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah, whose capabilities and leadership were severely degraded in a war with Israel in 2024, was organising a rally in several areas on Monday in support of Iran “in the face of American-Zionist sabotage and threats”, with leader Naim Qassem set to speak.
A US-based rights group said on Monday it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 6,000 people during a wave of protests in Iran suppressed by security forces, as Tehran warned Washington against intervening.
The protests started in late December, driven by economic grievances, but turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street demonstrations for several days from January 8.
But rights groups have accused authorities of launching an unprecedented crackdown by shooting directly at the protesters under the cover of an internet shutdown that has now lasted an unprecedented 18 days.
The clerical leadership who took power after the 1979 Islamic revolution remains in place despite the protests, with many opponents of the system looking to outside intervention as the most likely driver of change.
US President Donald Trump had appeared to step back from military intervention, but has since insisted it remains an option.
He said last week that Washington was sending a “massive fleet” to the region “just in case”. Iran’s foreign ministry warned on Monday of a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response to any aggression”.
NGOs tracking the toll from the crackdown have said their task has been impeded by the internet shutdown, warning that confirmed figures are likely to be far lower than the actual toll.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed that 5,848 people had been killed, including 209 members of the security forces. But the group added it was still investigating another 17,091 possible fatalities.
At least 41,283 people have been arrested, it said. Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities last week said 3,117 people were killed, the majority of whom it described as members of the security forces or innocent bystanders killed by “rioters”.
– ‘Reap the whirlwind’ –
Confirming that the internet blackout remains in place, monitor Netblocks said the shutdown was “obscuring the extent of a deadly crackdown on civilians”.
“Gaps in the filternet are being tightened to limit circumvention while whitelisted regime accounts promote the Islamic Republic’s narrative,” it added.
Over the weekend, Persian-language TV channel Iran International, which is based outside Iran, said more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces from January 8 to 9, citing reports, documents and sources. It was not immediately possible to verify the report.
Meanwhile, the US was massing forces in the region with Trump keeping open the possibility of military intervention, having threatened Tehran at the height of the protests.
Trump said last week:”I’d rather not see anything happen but we’re watching them very closely.”
US media reported that Washington has sent the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the region.
The US briefly joined Israel’s war against Iran in June, striking its nuclear facilities. Israel also targeted Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and killed several senior Iranian security officials during 12 days of air strikes.
In Iran, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei warned against intervention and said Iran was “confident in its own capabilities”.
In apparent reference to the Lincoln, he added: “The arrival of such a battleship is not going to affect Iran’s determination and seriousness to defend the Iranian nation.”
Meanwhile, a new anti-US billboard has appeared in the central Enghelab Square in Tehran, appearing to show an American aircraft carrier being destroyed.
“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” the English-language slogan read.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei last appeared in public on January 17, warning in a speech broadcast on state television that authorities would “break the back of the seditionists”.
In Lebanon, Iran-backed Shiite militant group Hezbollah, whose capabilities and leadership were severely degraded in a war with Israel in 2024, was organising a rally in several areas on Monday in support of Iran “in the face of American-Zionist sabotage and threats”, with leader Naim Qassem set to speak.
By AFP
January 24, 2026
Iranians shop for food at the Grand Bazaar in the capital Tehran - Copyright AFP ATTA KENARE
Ramin KHANIZADEH, Menna ZAKI
Cut off from the global internet for more than two weeks, online content creator Amir spends his days scanning the few news websites available on Iran’s domestic web for signs that connectivity to the world might return.
Amir, 32, has been unable to produce his reviews of video games and movies since January 8, when authorities imposed an unprecedented communications blackout amid mass anti-government protests that authorities acknowledge left more than 3,000 dead.
The prolonged shutdown has impacted key sectors of the economy from travel to exports, according to Iranians in Tehran who spoke to AFP, while costing the country millions of dollars each day.
“My work entirely depends on the internet… I really cannot see myself surviving without it,” said Amir, who works with social media platforms including Instagram and YouTube.
He said the restrictions had left him demotivated and increasingly concerned about his income and future.
Nationwide rallies against the rising cost of living erupted in Tehran on December 28, beginning as peaceful demonstrations before turning into what officials describe as “foreign-instigated riots” that included killings and vandalism.
An official death toll from the unrest stands at 3,117, but international NGOs have provided higher numbers.
The protests have since subsided but remaining in place are the internet restrictions, which Iran’s foreign minister has justified as necessary to confront foreign “terrorist operations”. Rights groups, however, say the shutdown was imposed to mask a government crackdown on protesters.
Millions of Iranians have been left reliant on the country’s intranet, which supports a wide range of domestic apps while keeping users isolated from the outside world.
Buses, subway systems, online payment and banking platforms, as well as ride-hailing, navigation and food delivery services, are all functioning on the intranet, along with local news websites.
Last weekend local media reported that domestic messaging apps including Bale, Eitaa and Rubika would also become functional again.
But Amir told AFP that he had “never used these apps and I will not start now”, citing privacy concerns.
– Flight disruptions –
Social media sites such as Instagram have served as a key marketplace for Iranian entrepreneurs, but the impact on the economy from the internet restrictions extends far wider.
On Sunday, local media quoted Iran’s deputy telecommunications minister Ehsan Chitsaz as saying the shutdown is estimated to have cost between four and six trillion rials per day — around $3 to $4 million.
Internet monitoring group NetBlocks has provided a much higher estimate, saying each day costs Iran more than $37 million.
A travel agent, who declined to be named for security concerns, told AFP that booking international flights has been “unstable”. Some flights had been cancelled and passengers only informed upon arrival at airports, she said.
“Business has been affected, with the number of customers calling me daily to book flights dropping,” she added, noting that “domestic flights remain easier to arrange”.
Iraj, a 51-year-old truck driver in western Iran who transports goods across the country’s borders, said administrative procedures for loading and unloading export cargo have slowed.
“Drivers have been required to wait hours to complete paperwork,” he added.
– ‘It will backfire’ –
Curbs on the internet have been imposed during previous bouts of unrest in Iran though have generally been shorter and more limited in scope.
Disruptions took place as far back as 2009 during nationwide demonstrations against the re-election of then president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Restrictions were also in place during protests sparked by rising fuel prices in 2019, rallies in 2022-2023 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, and during the 12-day war with Israel in June last year.
Amin, another content creator who reviews tech devices in videos posted to YouTube and Instagram, said he had anticipated restrictions this time but did not expect the shutdown to be so long or so stringent.
“We used to complain that working under these conditions was difficult, but now it’s affecting every aspect of our livelihoods,” the 29-year-old told AFP.
It remains unclear how long the blackout will last. In recent days patchy access to some foreign websites and email services such as Google has been available, but has been highly unreliable.
“The only optimistic thing I can say… is that I don’t see them keeping the internet shut completely for a long time,” Amin said.
“Otherwise, it will backfire.”
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