Iran unrest: Over 3,000 killed in nationwide protests; toll deadliest in decades

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has climbed to more than 3,000, marking the country’s deadliest unrest in decades, rights activists said on Saturday.The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, Reuters reported.

Residents said a sweeping crackdown appeared to have largely quelled demonstrations for now, while state media reported more arrests. Meanwhile, internet monitoring groups reported a “very slight rise” in connectivity after an eight-day blackout across the country.According to Reuters, opposition groups and an Iranian official have also put the toll at over 2,000, calling it the worst internal violence since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The protests broke out on December 28 over economic hardship and escalated into widespread rallies against Iran’s clerical leadership, with violence peaking late last week.The protests began in over Iran’s deteriorating economy and quickly evolved into open challenges to the ruling theocracy. Rising prices and job insecurity pushed angry traders, university students and urban residents onto the streets of major cities, including Tehran, Mashhad and Isfahan.

Demonstrators also directly targeted Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, with images emerging from Tehran showing graffiti and chants calling for his death.Several residents contacted by Reuters said Tehran had been relatively quiet for the past four days. While drones were seen flying over parts of the city, there were no major street protests on Thursday or Friday. A resident from a northern city near the Caspian Sea reported a similar lull, saying streets there also appeared calm.Despite this, communications remain severely restricted. Internet monitoring group NetBlocks said on X that “Metrics show a very slight rise in internet connectivity in #Iran this morning” after about 200 hours of shutdown, adding that connectivity was still at around 2% of normal levels.The situation has drawn international attention, including from US President Donald Trump. Reacting to reports of executions, Trump said Iran’s leaders had halted planned hangings.

“I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” he posted on social media. Iranian authorities have not announced any such execution plans or confirmed they were cancelled.Earlier this week, Trump told reporters, according to the BBC, “The killing looks like it’s significant, but we don’t know yet for certain,” adding that once the figures were confirmed, “we’ll act accordingly”.Foreign nationals in Iran have also been affected. Indian students and pilgrims returning from the country told Reuters they were mostly confined to their accommodation and unable to communicate with their families.