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The number of confirmed deaths during nationwide protests in Iran has risen to 4,519, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said Tuesday.
At least 26,314 people have been arrested and 5,811 others have sustained serious injuries as the demonstrations entered their 24th day, according to figures compiled by the group, known as HRANA.
The agency said 9,049 additional deaths remain under investigation.
HRANA stated that the figures were recorded amid widespread internet shutdowns, heavy security pressure, and severe restrictions on access to information, warning that the actual toll could be significantly higher.
Meanwhile, the Norway-based Iran Human Rights organization said verification of deaths remains severely hampered by communication restrictions.
The group said Monday that available information “indicates that the number of protesters killed may exceed even the highest media estimates,” which it said reach 20,000.
Iran has been shaken by waves of protests since last month, beginning Dec. 28 at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar over the sharp depreciation of the Iranian rial and worsening economic conditions. Demonstrations later spread to several other cities.
Iranian officials have accused the United States and Israel of backing what they describe as “armed rioters,” saying they have carried out several attacks in public places nationwide.
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned that Washington would “hit hard” if protesters were killed, but later praised Tehran for reportedly canceling hundreds of scheduled executions.
Trump on Tuesday reiterated a warning that Iran would be wiped “off the face of this earth” if Tehran ever succeeded in assassinating the U.S. leader.
In a News Nation interview aired Tuesday, Trump said he had issued “very firm instructions” in response to threats against his life.
“Anything happens, they’re going to wipe them off the face of this earth,” Trump said.
The remarks came amid escalating rhetoric between Iran and the United States, with officials from both sides warning of broad-scale war if leaders of either country were assassinated.
Earlier Tuesday, Iranian General Abolfazl Shekarchi responded to threats facing Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Trump knows that if a hand of aggression is extended toward our leader, we will not only sever that hand, and this is not a mere slogan,” Shekarchi was quoted as saying by Iranian state media.
“But we will set their world on fire and leave them no safe haven in the region.”
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Trump issued a similar warning a year ago, shortly after returning to the White House, when he told reporters: “If they do it, they get obliterated.”
Iran remains shaken by violence during what rights groups describe as some of the largest anti-government protests since the 1979 Revolution.
Mass demonstrations began in December after Iran’s currency fell to a new low, fueling public anger over economic hardship under the leadership of the 86-year-old supreme leader, who has resisted democratic reforms for decades.
Members of Iran’s global diaspora have also weighed in. Exiled Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi has called for U.S. intervention against Iran’s ruling apparatus.
Ebadi urged “highly targeted actions” against Iran’s supreme leader and commanders of the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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