At least 29 protesters killed in Iran, rights group says

The death toll from protests across Iran has risen to at least 29, the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said on Monday evening, as demonstrations over economic woes show no signs of stopping.

The rights group, which relies on an activist network in Iran and has provided accurate figures from previous unrest, said four children and two members of Iran's security forces have been killed. Protests have been recorded across 27 of Iran's 31 provinces, it added.

The unrest began a week ago when the Iranian rial fell to a record low against the US dollar. Authorities have attempted a dual approach to the protests – acknowledging the economic crisis and offering dialogue with demonstrators, while meeting more forceful displays of dissent with violence.

Iran’s security and intelligence agencies said they detained several people accused of "links to foreign-based opposition groups" and trying to incite unrest under the cover of protests.

About 250 police officers and 45 members of the Basij, a volunteer paramilitary group, were injured during the protests, said the Fars news agency, which is affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The current protests do not match the scale of unrest that swept the nation from 2022 to 2023 after Mahsa Amini died in the custody of Iran's morality police.

But even if the demonstrations are smaller, they have quickly expanded from an economic focus to broader frustrations, with some protesters chanting "Down with the Islamic Republic" or "Death to the dictator" – a reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in all state matters.

Iran is still reeling from its war with Israel in June last year and US strikes on its nuclear sites. The protests have also taken place as US President Donald Trump's administration attacked Venezuela and captured President Nicolas Maduro, a Tehran ally.

US President Donald Trump with a cap bearing the phrase 'Make Iran Great Again', alongside senator Lindsey Graham. Photo: @LindseyGrahamSC

Events in Venezuela may have increased anxiety among Iran's leadership that the country could face a resumption of hostilities with the US, especially as nuclear talks have faltered.

"These twin pressures have narrowed Tehran's room for manoeuvre, leaving leaders caught between public anger on the streets and hardening demands and threats from Washington, with few viable options and high risks on every path," an Iranian official told Reuters about the protests and the situation in Latin America.

That view was echoed by ‌two other officials and a former Iranian official close to the country's decision makers.

One official said that, after ‍the US action in Venezuela, some of the authorities in Iran fear the country could be "the ‍next victim of Trump's aggressive foreign policy". Mr Trump has warned that Iran would be “hit very hard” if more protesters died.

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