Human rights groups have said that hundreds of people have been killed during mass demonstrations that have roiled Iran in recent weeks, and that thousands more have been detained, while some say the death toll could be much higher.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Jan. 11 that at least 544 people have been killed in the government suppression of nationwide protests, noting that 490 deaths were protesters and 48 were members of the regime’s security forces. About 10,600 people have been detained, the group reported, and the death toll and arrest numbers will likely rise.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights put the death toll at 192 on Jan. 11, but noted that “unverified reports” have shown that several hundred people, or even more than 2,000, might have been killed so far.
“Due to the total internet blackout and severe restrictions on access to information, independent verification remains a serious challenge under the current circumstances,” the organization stated.
The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify the groups’ reports. The Iranian regime has not released any figures about the death toll or how many people have been detained.
The Islamic Republic’s chief justice, Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei, warned on Jan. 9 that protesters will be met with “decisive, maximum action without any legal leniency.”
There have been reports from inside the country that some buildings, including mosques or courthouses, have been set on fire amid the unrest. The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify those reports, either.
The demonstrations began on Dec. 28, 2025, over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at more than 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions levied in part over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocratic regime.
President Donald Trump has offered support for the protesters, saying on social media: “Iran is looking at FREEDOM, perhaps like never before. The USA stands ready to help!!!”
“Iran’s in big trouble,” Trump told reporters on Jan. 9. “It looks to me that the people are taking over certain cities that nobody thought were really possible just a few weeks ago. We’re watching the situation very carefully.
“I’ve made this statement very strongly, that if they start killing people like they have in the past, we will get involved. … That doesn’t mean boots on the ground, but it means hitting them very, very hard where it hurts.”
Trump’s comments were made about a week after the U.S. military launched an operation in Venezuela, an ally of Iran, that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro on drug-trafficking charges.
About six years ago, Trump ordered a U.S. military strike that killed top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani, whom the Trump administration described as a major backer of attacks on U.S. forces in the Middle East. And over the summer, the U.S. and Israeli militaries launched strikes on facilities associated with Iran’s nuclear program, prompting Iran to launch missile barrages at a U.S. air base in Qatar that led to no casualties.
Some Iranian officials have responded by saying that the country could strike Israel or the United States. A parliamentary speech by Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of the Iranian parliament who has run for the presidency in the past, issued direct threats to both countries.
“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 over the weekend. “We do not consider ourselves limited to reacting after the action and will act based on any objective signs of a threat.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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