Iran Verifies At Least 5,000 Deaths In Protests, Blames ‘Foreign-Backed Rioters’

Iran has verified that at least 5,000 people have been killed in the nationwide protests that have shaken the country since late December, according to a regional Iranian official who spoke to Reuters on Sunday. The figure includes around 500 members of the security forces, marking the deadliest unrest in the Islamic Republic in decades.

The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, blamed the deaths on “terrorists and armed rioters,” claiming they were responsible for killing “innocent Iranians.” He alleged that Israel and foreign-based armed groups had supported and equipped protesters, echoing Tehran’s long-standing narrative that unrest is orchestrated from abroad.

“The final toll is not expected to increase sharply,” the official said, while acknowledging that some of the fiercest clashes occurred in Iran’s Kurdish northwest, a region with a history of separatist tensions and periodic confrontations with state forces.

However, rights groups have challenged the government’s account. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported on Saturday that it had confirmed 3,308 deaths, with another 4,382 cases under review, and said more than 24,000 people had been arrested since demonstrations began. The Norway-based Kurdish rights group Hengaw also documented heavy casualties in Kurdish-majority provinces, accusing security forces of indiscriminate violence.

The protests were initially sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency and soaring living costs but quickly evolved into broader anti-government demonstrations. Videos shared online have shown burning vehicles, mass rallies, and security forces using live ammunition—footage that Reuters could not independently verify.

Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fuelling the unrest. Tensions with Israel escalated further after Israeli military strikes on Iranian targets in June, which Tehran cited as evidence of external interference.

International human rights organisations have called for an independent investigation into the killings, warning that the true death toll could be far higher than officially acknowledged. The United Nations has urged restraint and accountability, but Tehran has rejected foreign criticism as interference in its internal affairs.

As the country remains volatile, analysts fear the violence has deepened Iran’s political crisis, with little sign of reconciliation between authorities and an increasingly defiant public.