Iran Protest Crackdown Death Toll Surpasses 2,500, Activists Report

The death toll reported by analysts far exceeds that of any previous protests or unrest in Iran in recent decades, evoking memories of the turmoil during the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The death toll from protests in Iran reached at least 2571, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported early Wednesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities eased communications in their nationwide crackdown on demonstrators, The Caspian Post reports, citing foreign media.

The activist group said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians who it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

The figure analysts say dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Tuesday, Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgement of the deaths, quoting an official saying the country had “a lot of martyrs.”

As the reported toll grew on Tuesday, US President Donald Trump urged Iranian demonstrators to continue their protests, saying that "help is on the way".

“Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING-TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!” Trump wrote on his social platform, Truth Social. He added, “I have cancelled all meetings with Iranian officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”

His comments came as Iranians and the world wait to see if he'd follow through on threats to militarily intervene if Tehran continues its violent and deadly crackdown on protesters.

On Tuesday evening, Trump told reporters that his administration was awaiting an accurate report on the number of protesters that had been killed before acting “accordingly.”

In response to the latest Trump threat, Iranian officials once again warned Trump against taking action, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, saying: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2-” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.