Iran Admits 3,000 Protest Deaths - Activists Say The Real Toll Is Much Higher

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Iran on Wednesday released its first government-issued death toll from a sweeping crackdown on nationwide protests, acknowledging more than 3,000 fatalities - a figure sharply lower than estimates provided by human-rights groups abroad - as the Islamic Republic seeks to reassert control following unrest that has drawn comparisons with the upheaval surrounding the 1979 revolution.

Tehran acknowledges deaths, disputes scale of violence

State television broadcast statements from Iran's Interior Ministry and the Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, which said 3,117 people were killed in Iran during demonstrations that began on 28 December. The authorities claimed 2,427 of the dead were civilians and members of the security forces, without clarifying the status of the remaining casualties.

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Iran's leadership has historically underreported or withheld fatality figures during periods of unrest, a pattern that has fuelled scepticism among rights groups and foreign governments.

Activists cite far higher toll amid information blackout

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said early Thursday that at least 4,902 people had been killed, with the final toll feared to be significantly higher. The group, which relies on an extensive network of activists inside Iran, has previously provided figures later borne out by independent investigations.

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The Associated Press said it was unable to independently verify the death toll, citing Iran's near-total internet shutdown since 8 January restrictions on international calls and tight controls on domestic media coverage. Iranian state outlets have repeatedly described demonstrators as“rioters” allegedly motivated by the United States and Israel, without presenting evidence.

Arrests mount as fears grow over executions

Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that nearly 26,500 people have been arrested since the unrest began. Statements from Iranian officials have intensified fears that some detainees could face execution, in a country already among the world's most prolific users of capital punishment.

The scale of the violence makes the current crackdown the deadliest episode of protest-related unrest in Iran in decades, eclipsing previous demonstrations in both scale and severity.

Foreign minister warns US of retaliation

As tensions escalated, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi i ssued his strongest warning yet to Washington, saying Iran would respond with overwhelming force if attacked.

“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,” Araghchi wrote in an opinion article published by The Wall Street Journal.“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.”

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He added:“An all-out confrontation will certainly be ferocious and drag on far, far longer than the fantasy timelines that Israel and its proxies are trying to peddle to the White House. It will certainly engulf the wider region and have an impact on ordinary people around the globe.”

Araghchi's comments coincided with his invitation to the World Economic Forum in Davos being rescinded over the killings.

Military movements heighten regional anxiety

The remarks also came as a US aircraft carrier group moved west from Asia towards the Middle East. Ship-tracking data showed the USS Abraham Lincoln transiting the Strait of Malacca into the Indian Ocean, placing it days away from the region.

US military images released in recent days showed F-15E Strike Eagle fighter jets arriving in the Middle East and the repositioning of HIMARS missile systems. While US officials stopped short of confirming a new deployment, the movements followed a major U.S. military operation in the Caribbean that led to the seizure of Venezuela's Nicolás Maduro.

Kurdish group claims Iranian strike in Iraq

Separately, the National Army of Kurdistan - the armed wing of the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) - claimed Iran launched an attack on one of its bases near Irbil in northern Iraq, killing one fighter. Mobile phone footage released by the group showed a fire burning before dawn.

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Iran did not immediately acknowledge the strike, which, if confirmed, would mark Tehran's first foreign military operation since the protests erupted. Iranian Kurdish groups have long operated from northern Iraq, an arrangement that has repeatedly strained relations between Tehran and Baghdad.

(With inputs from AP)

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