The death toll from protests in Iran, which have been going on for over 20 days, has risen to five thousand. Among them are 500 security forces.
An Iranian official reported this on January 18, Reuters reports.
He said the death toll was “unlikely to rise dramatically”. He said the largest number of people killed in the protests were in northeastern Iran, where some of the most violent clashes have occurred.
The official blamed the killings of innocent Iranians on “terrorists and armed rebels”. He said “Israel and groups abroad” supported and armed those who took to the streets.
Reuters notes that Iranian authorities regularly blame foreign powers, including the United States and Israel, for the unrest. According to residents and Iranian state media, a brutal crackdown has likely largely suppressed the protests.
Meanwhile, the American news agency Human Rights Activist News Agency reports that as of January 17, the death toll from protests in Iran had reached 3 308, with another 4 382 confirmed deaths. More than 2 100 people were seriously injured, and 24 266 protesters were arrested.
Protests in Iran
Mass protests have been ongoing in Iran since December 28, sparked by economic policies — the Iranian rial lost half its value against the dollar last year, and inflation exceeded 40% in December. The demonstrations have since spread to universities and provincial cities and have become openly anti-government.
A total of 617 protests took place in 187 cities across the country, the largest since the 2022 protests that led to the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was detained for allegedly wearing a hijab incorrectly and later found dead.
According to The Times, Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has already prepared a backup plan in case the regime falls — an escape plan. A source told the media outlet that Moscow is seen as the only realistic option for Khamenei to seek refuge.
On January 12, two US officials told CNN that US President Donald Trump was considering military intervention in Iran amid the protests. Trump himself has repeatedly hinted that the US could intervene.
According to NBC News, Trump has told his national security team that if he takes military action against Iran, he wants a “quick and decisive strike” that doesn’t turn into a protracted war. But advisers are not giving any guarantees that the regime will fall.
On January 17, Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly acknowledged for the first time the scale of the death toll from the protests in the country, saying that "several thousand" people had died.
Khamenei placed responsibility for the deaths not on the security forces, but on the protesters themselves.
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