Iranian authorities have carried out a “mass killing” while crushing the country’s largest protests in years, a leading human rights organisation said on Sunday, as the government ordered nationwide counter-rallies in an attempt to regain control of the streets.
The Norway-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) group said it had confirmed at least 192 protester deaths, but warned the real toll could already be several hundred or even higher, citing restricted access to information due to a sweeping internet blackout.
Protests Turn Into Direct Challenge to Regime
The demonstrations, which began over rising living costs, have rapidly evolved into a broader movement against Iran’s theocratic system, in place since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Now in their second week, the protests represent one of the most serious challenges to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 86, in years.
The unrest comes just months after Israel’s 12-day conflict with Iran in June, backed by the United States, adding to pressure on Tehran at home and abroad.
Death Toll May Be Far Higher
According to IHR, unverified reports suggest more than 2,000 people may have been killed, a claim the group said could not yet be independently verified due to the communications shutdown.
“Unverified reports indicate that at least several hundreds, and according to some sources, more than 2,000 people may have been killed,” IHR said, calling the crackdown “a major international crime against the people of Iran.”
Despite an internet blackout lasting more than 72 hours, monitored by Netblocks, images and videos have continued to surface. One video authenticated by AFP showed dozens of bodies wrapped in black bags lying outside a morgue in Kahrizak, south of Tehran, with grieving relatives searching for missing family members.
Rights groups say the footage offers stark evidence of the scale of violence used against protesters.
Government Pushes Counter-Rallies, Declares Mourning
President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Iran’s enemies of fueling unrest and importing “terrorists”, urging citizens not to allow what he termed “rioters” to destabilise the country.
“The people should believe that we want to establish justice,” he said in an interview broadcast on state television.
Authorities have declared three days of national mourning for “martyrs,” including members of the security forces killed during the unrest. State media has shown images of burning buildings and funerals for security personnel, while framing the protests as foreign-backed riots.
The government has described the crackdown as part of an “Iranian national resistance battle against America and the Zionist regime,” using Tehran’s terminology for Israel.
Thousands Arrested, Tehran Largely Shut Down
IHR estimates that more than 2,600 protesters have been arrested since the demonstrations began.
In Tehran, an AFP journalist described a city nearly paralysed, with many shops closed and those that do open shutting by late afternoon as security forces flood the streets. Prices of basic goods have surged, with meat prices nearly doubling since the protests erupted.
Exiled Shah’s Son Calls for Uprising
Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran’s ousted shah and now based in the US, has called for renewed protests, saying he is prepared to return to Iran to lead a transition to democracy. Some demonstrators have been heard chanting “Long live the shah.”
“I’m already planning on that,” Pahlavi told Fox News.
International Tensions Rise
US President Donald Trump has voiced support for the protesters, warning Iranian authorities against further bloodshed and threatening military action if violence escalates.
Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf responded by saying Iran would retaliate against any US attack, declaring American military forces and shipping “legitimate targets.”
As protests continue despite arrests, deaths and a communications blackout, rights groups warn that the full human cost of Iran’s crackdown may only emerge once the country reconnects with the outside world.