LONDON — The demise toll from mass protests in Iran has risen to 538, in line with information compiled by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists Information Company (HRANA) on Sunday.
The group says it has confirmed the deaths of 490 protesters and 48 members of safety forces. 10,600 individuals are also recorded as having been arrested, in line with HRANA.
The HRANA information depends on the work of activists inside and out of doors the nation.
ABC Information can’t independently confirm these numbers. The Iranian authorities has not supplied any demise tolls through the ongoing protests.
Video footage shot by locals and posted to social media appeared to point out 1000’s of individuals protesting in Tehran’s Punak Sq. on Saturday night time regardless of reported efforts by authorities safety forces to disperse crowds. Elsewhere, movies confirmed massive crowds gathered within the northeastern metropolis of Mashhad.
HRANA mentioned in its Saturday replace that it had recorded 574 protest areas throughout 185 cities and all 31 provinces of the nation. Saturday marked the fourteenth day of protests, HRANA mentioned.
This body seize from footage circulating on social media exhibits protesters dancing and cheering round a bonfire as they take to the streets of Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 9, 2026.
AP
The Iranian authorities has not launched detailed statistics on casualties sustained amongst protesters. The state-aligned Tasnim information company reported on Sunday that 109 safety personnel had been killed within the protests.
HRANA and different human rights teams reported widespread and sustained web outages throughout the nation because the protests unfold. On-line monitoring group NetBlocks mentioned early on Sunday that Iran’s “web blackout” had surpassed 60 hours.
Protests have been spreading throughout the nation since late December. The primary marches passed off in downtown Tehran, with individuals demonstrating in opposition to rising inflation and the falling worth of the nationwide forex, the rial.
Because the protests unfold, some have taken on a extra explicitly anti-government tone, with some protesters chanting slogans together with “pupil, be the voice of your individuals,” and “demise to Islamic Republic.”
The theocratic authorities in Tehran — headed by Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — moved to tame the protests, with safety forces reportedly utilizing tear fuel and stay ammunition to disperse gatherings.
Khamenei and high Iranian officers have mentioned they’re prepared to interact with the financial grievances of protesters, although have additionally framed the unrest as pushed by “rioters” and sponsored by international nations, prime amongst them the U.S. and Israel.
In feedback carried by Iranian state media, President Masoud Pezeshkian on Sunday blamed international “terrorists” for the protests but additionally addressed a few of the points that initially introduced protesters out onto the streets.
“We’re decided, and have determined, to resolve financial issues by any means potential,” Pezeshkian mentioned.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu mentioned at first of his weekly cupboard assembly Sunday that “Israel is intently following what is going on in Iran” and the continuing “demonstrations for freedom” there.
“Israel helps their wrestle for freedom and strongly condemns the mass massacres of harmless civilians,” Netanyahu additional mentioned. “All of us hope that the Persian nation will quickly be free of the yoke of tyranny, and when that day comes, Israel and Iran will as soon as once more be loyal companions in constructing a way forward for prosperity and peace for each peoples.”
Dissident figures overseas, in the meantime, have urged Iranians to take to the road and overthrow the federal government. On Sunday, Iran’s exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addressed protesters in a put up to X, saying, “Don’t abandon the streets. My coronary heart is with you. I do know that I’ll quickly be by your aspect.”
On this body seize from footage circulating on social media exhibits protesters dancing and cheering round a bonfire as they take to the streets regardless of an intensifying crackdown because the Islamic Republic stays minimize off from the remainder of the world, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC by way of AP)
The Related Press
U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Tehran in opposition to the usage of power to suppress the protests. On Saturday, Trump wrote on social media, “Iran is FREEDOM, maybe like by no means earlier than. The USA stands prepared to assist!!!”
An Israeli official instructed ABC Information on Sunday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke on Saturday about occasions unfolding in Iran.
Tehran, in the meantime, has warned in opposition to outdoors intervention. On Sunday, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf — the speaker of the Iranian parliament — mentioned that the U.S. navy and Israel will likely be “legit targets” within the occasion of American strikes on Iran.
ABC Information’ Victoria Beaule and Jordana Miller contributed to this report.
