Smoke rises as protesters gather amid evolving anti-government unrest at Vakilabad Highway in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran, in this screen grab obtained from a social media video released on Jan. 10, 2026. Social Media/via Reuters
Human rights groups have said that hundreds of people have been killed during mass demonstrations that have roiled Iran in recent weeks, and that thousands more have been detained, while some say the death toll could be much higher.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Jan. 11 that at least 544 people have been killed in the government suppression of nationwide protests, noting that 490 deaths were protesters and 48 were members of the regime’s security forces. About 10,600 people have been detained, the group reported, and the death toll and arrest numbers will likely rise.
