Death toll in Iran protests rises to 192

At least 192 protesters have been killed in Iran’s largest anti-government protests, according to a human rights group, which has warned that the authorities’ crackdown is raising fears of mass killings.

Norway-based Iran Human Rights said it has confirmed the deaths of at least 192 protesters since the unrest began. With the internet shut down for more than 60 hours, the flow of information has been severely restricted and the real toll could be much higher.

The protests began in Tehran on December 28 over rising living costs and have since grown into the biggest movement since the 1979 revolution. The two-week-long uprising has become a major challenge to the rule of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86.

Despite the internet blackout, videos of large demonstrations in Tehran and other cities have circulated. An AFP-verified video showed fresh protests on Saturday night in Tehran and several cities, including Mashhad in the east, with some vehicles set on fire. Other unverified videos showed relatives crowding a Tehran morgue to identify victims.

The US-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said eyewitness accounts and credible reports indicate that hundreds of protesters may have been killed across the country. It warned that mass killings are under way, hospitals are overwhelmed, blood supplies are running low and many protesters have been deliberately shot in the eyes.

An AFP journalist in Tehran said the city has been virtually paralysed. Since the protests began, meat prices have nearly doubled, many shops have closed and those that remain open shut by around 4:00 or 5:00 pm. Security forces have been deployed across the city in large numbers.

Iran’s police chief Ahmad Reza Radan said on Saturday night that those involved in the protests were being arrested, without giving details. President Masoud Pezeshkian told state broadcaster IRIB that rioters should not be allowed to create chaos and that people should trust the government’s commitment to justice.

Exiled heir to Iran’s former monarchy Reza Pahlavi on Sunday called for renewed protests, telling demonstrators not to leave the streets and saying he stands with them.

US President Donald Trump voiced support for the protests and warned of possible military action if protesters are killed. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Saar urged the European Union to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation, saying Israel supports the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom.

In response, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tehran would retaliate if the United States launches military strikes, warning in a televised address that occupied territories and US military and naval facilities would become legitimate targets.