The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists in Iran (HRANA) group said on Tuesday (January 13) it had verified the deaths of more than 2,000 people during Iran’s protests, including 1,850 protesters, 135 government-affiliated individuals, nine people under the age of 18 and nine non-protester civilians, Reuters reports.
HRANA’s deputy director, Skylar Thompson, said the group had an additional 779 cases under review and that the verified toll alone was “extraordinarily high.” She said HRANA relied on a longstanding in-country network of primary sources to confirm deaths, even as Iranian authorities imposed a near-total communications blackout.
“In recent days, we’ve faced an unprecedented internet shutdown,” Thompson said, adding that the cutoff of mobile, landline and internet services had sharply slowed the flow of information and delayed verification of casualties.
Despite weeks of nationwide unrest and years of external pressure, there are no clear signs of fractures within Iran’s security elite that could threaten the survival of the Islamic Republic, according to two diplomats, two regional government sources and two analysts.
Pressure on Iran’s clerical rulers has intensified as U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened military action over Tehran’s crackdown on the protests, which erupted following Israeli and U.S. air strikes last year on Iran’s nuclear program and senior officials. Responding to Reuters, a White House official said “all options” remained on the table.
On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranian protesters to seize control of institutions and said “help is on the way,” while announcing the cancellation of meetings with Iranian officials. He has also threatened tariffs on countries that trade with Iran, including China, Tehran’s largest trading partner.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussed the possibility of U.S. intervention in Iran during a phone call on Saturday (January 10), according to an Israeli source with direct knowledge of the conversation.
Unless sustained street protests and foreign pressure prompt defections at the highest levels of power, the Iranian establishment, though weakened, is likely to endure, the sources said.
