A screenshot obtained from a video on social media shows the unrest in the city of Mashhad. Photo: Reuters
DUBAI:
The death toll from deadly clashes during ongoing protests in Iran has risen to more than 500 people, as authorities intensified a crackdown and warned the United States against intervention, human rights groups and media reported Sunday.
Iran is in the grip of the deadliest wave of unrest in years, sparked by economic woes and fueled by political anger. Iranian authorities have blamed the unrest on foreign interference, particularly from the United States and Israel.
According to the American news agency Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 490 demonstrators and 48 members of the security forces have been killed since the protests began on December 28.
Tasnim, a semi-official Iranian news agency, reported that at least 109 members of the security forces were killed. Other media outlets claimed that more than 10,600 people had been arrested nationwide.
The protests, initially driven by soaring prices, have become the biggest challenge to Iran’s establishment since 2022, with chants now openly targeting the ruling system established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Despite the internet shutdown imposed since Thursday, images circulating on social media and verified by Reuters and AFP showed large crowds marching at night in Tehran, chanting slogans and applauding, while fires and explosions were reported in cities like Mashhad.
Iranian police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said the level of confrontation with “rioters” had been intensified, while state television broadcast images of dozens of body bags at the Tehran coroner’s office, saying the victims had been killed in incidents provoked by “armed terrorists”.
State media broadcast funerals of security force members killed during protests in cities including Shiraz, Gachsaran, Yasuj, Isfahan and Kermanshah. Authorities said the situation had stabilized in recent days.
According to official accounts, from Saturday evening to Sunday afternoon, major cities, including Tehran, experienced “no significant disruption.”
Internet connectivity, which had been disrupted due to security concerns, was gradually being restored, officials said. Public opinion distanced itself from “terrorists and rioters” and affirmed that the country would overcome the current phase with resilience.
Iran accuses foreign powers of stoking the violence. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned Washington against a “miscalculation,” saying any U.S. attack on Iran would make Israel and U.S. military bases and ships in the region “legitimate targets.”
In a television interview, President Masoud Pezeshkian also accused the United States and Israel of orchestrating the unrest, saying they were ordering “riots” to sow chaos and disorder in Iran. He urged families to prevent young people from joining “rioters and terrorists”.
He said foreign-linked elements were burning mosques, attacking banks and public properties and killing innocent people. He added that the government was ready to listen to public concerns and was determined to resolve economic problems.
US President Donald Trump said the United States was “ready to help” the protest movement and warned Iran it would be in “great trouble” if it continued to suppress demonstrations. Israeli sources said Trump and Netanyahu discussed possible US intervention in a phone call.
Iranian opposition figures abroad, including Reza Pahlavi and Maryam Rajavi, urged protesters to continue, as rights groups warned that the use of lethal force against demonstrators appeared to be escalating amid a communications blackout.
