Protests

Ever since the crackdown on protests in Iran between January 8 and 10, there has been contention on what the true death toll of those bloody events is. According to figures provided by the Iranian government, 3,117 people were killed, including civilians and security forces. Yet estimates from outside the country have put the number at anywhere between 5,000 and a staggering 36,500.

This wide range not only reflects the fact that it has been extremely difficult to verify these reports, but also that there has been a concerted effort to use the death count to manufacture global consent for an attack on Iran and, in a deceitful rhetoric, downplay the official death toll of the genocide in Gaza.

Since the outbreak of the protests, there has been a race to estimate and report on the casualties – something I call a “Death Toll Olympics”.

Iran-focused human rights organisations led by dissident activists have been going through all sorts of evidence and testimonies to verify the number of the dead. As of writing this piece, the US-based organisation HRANA (Human Rights Activists News Agency) has cited more than 6,000 deaths and a further 17,000-plus cases under examination.

However, there are valid doubts about the speed of the activist-led verification process.

For every reported death, multiple accounts have to be examined, possible duplications must be identified and eliminated; and dates, locations and specific circumstances must be cross-checked against the timeline of events.

Furthermore, any visual evidence has to be localised and authenticated based on open-source data or corroborated by the accounts of multiple witnesses. From an investigative standpoint, the reliability and quality of activist-led counts that increase rapidly on a daily basis, therefore warrants caution.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Iran, Mai Sato, has cited a conservative estimate of around 5,000 deaths. At the same time, she has mentioned that unverified numbers of up to 20,000 have been reported to her by medical sources.

The described obstacles, and difficulties of verification over the past weeks, have been further exacerbated by Iran’s severely restricted internet access. Despite this, major media outlets have begun distributing much higher figures, solely based on vague anonymous sources who claim privileged access within Iran’s government or health sector.

On January 25, for example, UK-based TV network Iran International published a report claiming 36,500 were killed, citing “extensive reports” allegedly obtained from the Iranian security apparatus – reports it has neither published nor otherwise made transparent.

The same day, United States news magazine Time published an article titled “Iran Protest Death Toll Could Top 30,000, According to Local Health Officials”. It claimed that “as many as 30,000 people could have been killed in the streets of Iran on Jan. 8 and 9 alone” based on the accounts of two senior officials of the country’s Ministry of Health, whose identities were not revealed for security reasons. Notably, the magazine admitted in the text that it did not possess any means to independently confirm that number.

Two days later, British newspaper The Guardian followed the same trend with an article titled “Disappeared bodies, mass burials and ‘30,000 dead’: what is the truth of Iran’s death toll?” The piece introduced the figure of 30,000 based on estimates of an anonymous doctor, who spoke to the newspaper. He and his colleagues in Iran, the outlet admitted, were actually hesitant to provide a concrete figure.

Other media – from the Sunday Times to the Pierce Morgan Uncensored show – have cited papers circulated by Germany-based ophthalmologist Amir Parasta claiming death toll numbers between 16,500 and 33,000. However, the latest available version of the paper, dating back to January 23 uses disputable extrapolation methods to reach its figures. Strikingly, Parasta does not make any secret of his affiliation with Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran’s ousted Shah

The exiled crown prince and his team, whose extensive social media manipulation and disinformation efforts have been exposed by recent investigations by the Israeli newspaper Haaretz and University of Toronto’s The Citizen Lab, have been key actors in inciting and escalating the recent protests towards confrontation. Accordingly, the fatality numbers disseminated by Mr Parasta cannot be perceived as neutral and constitute partisan estimates at best.

Despite acknowledging their own inability to verify these estimates, the media in question nevertheless put these extreme figures in titles and subheadings. It didn’t take long for other outlets to report on these inflated numbers, referring to these major publications as primary sources. Activists and Western politicians have also used them to push their respective agendas, thereby further fuelling a spiral of disinformation campaigns on social media. – In other words, a “death toll olympics” was born.

All of this has served two ends.

First, it has supported efforts to manufacture consent for foreign military intervention and malicious political action. While the protests were still ongoing, US President Donald Trump repeatedly threatened military action against Iran in the event of a deadly crackdown. As of writing these lines, there has been a significant US military build-up around Iran, effectively thickening the war cloud.

Second, the speculation about the Iranian death toll has helped pro-Israel politicians and commentators in the West to downplay the casualties of the Israeli war on Gaza. In this way, it has become a utilitarian tool for relativising the genocide of the Palestinian people.

Confronted with mounting pressure regarding the death toll, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian ordered the authorities to “publicly publish the names and personal data of those deceased during the recent bitter incidents”. His director of communication has even promised that a procedure has been set up to examine and verify any conflicting claims.

It remains to be seen how effective and transparent the promised procedure will turn out. It is undeniable that thousands have been killed in Iran, mostly by Iranian security forces, amid a multi-day brutal crowd and riot control effort.

Structural obscurity and the restricted access to Iran for independent experts will likely mean that the exact death toll will never be determined. However, the more transparency can be established regarding the scale of the killings, the more likely it is that the perpetrators can be held accountable.

An arduous verification process of the recent deaths is crucial not only for the sake of accountability, but also to expose the media manipulation that is once again preparing the ground for a unilateral US-led act of aggression in the Middle East. In light of this, the “Death Toll Olympics” remains an ignominious disservice to the wretched of the Earth from Palestine to Iran.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.

Two journalists were arrested and taken to court in the US for covering an anti-ICE protest inside a Minnesota church, as protests were held across the country against two killings by federal agents and President Trump’s immigration raids.

Press freedom groups decry arrest of former CNN anchor as lawyer pledges to fight charges ‘vigorously’.

Journalist Don Lemon has been arrested in connection with his coverage of a protest against United States President Donald Trump’s deadly immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.

Lemon’s lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said on Friday that the journalist had been arrested in Los Angeles, where he was covering the Grammy Awards.

It was not immediately clear what charges Lemon was facing. In recent weeks, however, the Department of Justice indicated it would target Lemon for his attendance at a January 18 protest, in which demonstrators disrupted a church service in the city of St Paul, Minnesota.

“Don has been a journalist for 30 years, and his constitutionally protected work in Minneapolis was no different than what he has always done,” Lowell said in a statement.

He pointed to the First Amendment of the US Constitution, which protects the freedom of the press.

“The First Amendment exists to protect journalists whose role it is to shine light on the truth and hold those in power accountable,” Lowell said. “Don will fight these charges vigorously and thoroughly in court”.

US Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed the arrest on Friday, saying Lemon had been taken into custody with three others in connection with what she described as the “coordinated attack on Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota”.

Lemon was part of a series of arrests that morning, all related to the church demonstration. They included independent journalist Georgia Fort, as well as activists Jamael Lydell Lundy and Trahern Jeen Crews.

Federal authorities had previously arrested Minneapolis civil rights lawyer Nekima Levy Armstrong and two others in connection with the protest.

Press freedom groups swiftly condemned the action, which they called a major escalation in the administration’s attacks on journalists.

“The unmistakable message is that journalists must tread cautiously because the government is looking for any way to target them,” Seth Stern, the chief of advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, said in a statement.

The National Press Club also denounced the arrests in a statement. “Arresting or detaining journalists for covering protests, public events, or government actions represents a grave threat to press freedom and risks chilling reporting nationwide,” it wrote.

Lemon had previously been an anchor for the CNN news network, but he was fired in 2023. He has since worked as an independent journalist, with a prominent presence on YouTube.

‘I’m here as a journalist’

During his online report from the church protest, Lemon repeatedly identified himself as a reporter as he interviewed both demonstrators and church attendees.

“I’m not here as an activist. I’m here as a journalist,” he told those present.

Protesters had targeted the church, which belongs to the Southern Baptist Convention, due to its pastor, David Easterwood, who also holds a role as the head of a field office for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Critics have questioned why the Justice Department swiftly opened a probe into the church protest, while it declined to open a civil rights investigation into an ICE agent’s killing of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7.

The department has not yet said if it will open an investigation into the January 24 killing of US citizen Alex Pretti by border patrol agents in Minneapolis.

“Instead of investigating the federal agents who killed two peaceful Minnesota protesters, the Trump Justice Department is devoting its time, attention and resources to this arrest, and that is the real indictment of wrongdoing in this case,” Lowell said in his statement.

Friday’s arrest comes after a federal judge in Minnesota took the rare move last week of refusing to sign an arrest warrant for Lemon. Justice Department officials nevertheless promised to continue pursuing charges.

White House “Border Czar” Tom Homan said federal immigration agents will conduct “targeted” rather than sweeping operations in Minnesota going forward. Homan is replacing controversial “commander at large” Gregory Bovino as head of operations in the state.

A third round of “No Kings” protests is coming this spring, with organizers saying they are planning their largest demonstrations yet across the United States to oppose what they describe as authoritarianism under President Trump.

Previous rallies have drawn millions of people, and organizers said they expect even greater numbers on March 28 in the wake of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, where violent clashes have led to the death of two people.

“We expect this to be the largest protest in American history,” Ezra Levin, co-executive director of the nonprofit Indivisible, told The Associated Press ahead of Wednesday’s announcement. He predicted that as many as 9 million people will turn out.

“No Kings” protests, which are organized by a constellation of groups around the country, have been a focal point for outrage over Trump’s attempts to consolidate and expand his power.

“This is in large part a response to a combination of the heinous attacks on our democracy and communities coming from the regime, and a sense that nobody’s coming to save us,” Levin said.

Last year, Trump said he felt attendees were “not representative of the people of our country,” and he insisted that “I’m not a king.”

‘No Kings’ shifts focus after Minneapolis deaths

The latest round of protests had been in the works before the crackdown in Minneapolis. However, the killing of two people by federal agents in recent weeks has refocused plans.

Levin said they want to show “support for Minnesota and immigrant communities all over” and oppose “the secret police force that is murdering Americans and infringing on their basic constitutional rights.”

“And what we know is, the only way to defend those rights is to exercise them, and you do that in nonviolent but forceful ways, and that’s what I expect to see in ‘No Kings’ three,” Levin said.

Trump has broadly defended his aggressive deportation campaign and blamed local officials for refusing to cooperate. However, he’s more recently signaled a shift in response to bipartisan concern over the killing of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on Saturday.

Previous ‘No Kings’ protests have drawn millions across the U.S.

In June, the first “No Kings” rallies were organized in nearly 2,000 locations nationwide, including cities, towns and community spaces. Those protests followed unrest over federal immigration raids and Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, where tensions escalated with protesters blocking a freeway and setting vehicles on fire.

They were organized also in large part to protest a military parade in the nation’s capital that marked the Army’s 250th anniversary and coincided with Trump’s birthday. “No Kings” organizers at the time called the parade a “coronation” that was symbolic of what they characterized as Trump’s growing authoritarian overreach.

In response, some conservative politicians condemned the protests as “Hate America” rallies.

During a second round of protests in October, organizers said demonstrations were held in about 2,700 cities and towns across the country. At the time, Levin pointed to Trump’s sweeping immigration crackdown, his unprecedented promises to use federal power to influence midterm elections, restrictions on press freedom and retribution against political opponents, steps he said cumulatively represented a direct threat to constitutionally protected rights.

On social media, both Trump and the official White House account mocked the protests, posting computer-generated images of the president wearing a crown.

The big protest days are headline-grabbing moments, but Levin said groups like his are determined to keep up steady trainings and intermediate-level organizing in hopes of growing sustainable resistance to the Trump administration’s actions.

“This isn’t about Democrats versus Republicans. This is about do we have a democracy at all, and what are we going to tell our kids and our grandkids about what we did in this moment?” Levin said. “I think that demands the kind of persistent engagement. ”

Kinnard writes for the Associated Press.

Protesters in Baghdad burned photos of Donald Trump and waved the Iraqi flag, rejecting the US president’s demand that former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki not return to the premiership.

Tehran, Iran – The Iranian government is putting into place contingency plans for basic governance as the threat of another war with the United States and Israel looms large.

President Masoud Pezeshkian gathered governors of Iran’s border provinces as well as his economy minister in Tehran on Tuesday to delegate some responsibilities to the governors if a war breaks out, state media reported. A working group was also formed, tasked with ensuring the increased flow of essential goods, particularly food.

The governors have been given authority to import goods without using foreign currency, engage in bartering and allow sailors to bring in products under simplified customs rules, according to the government-run IRNA news agency.

“In addition to importing essential goods, governors now have the authority to bring in all goods that are directly linked with the livelihoods of the people and the needs of the market in order to balance the market and prevent hoarding,” Pezeshkian was quoted as saying at the meeting.

“Through enforcing this policy, a considerable part of the pressures resulting from the cruel sanctions are neutralised,” he said in reference to harsh restrictions imposed by the US as well as United Nations sanctions reimposed in September, which the Iranian government blames for the economic crisis the country is going through.

But while the government resorts to focusing on the basics, nearly all of Iran’s 90 million people and all sectors of the country’s beleaguered economy continue to suffer from an unprecedented internet shutdown.

The digital blackout was imposed by the theocratic state on January 8 as nationwide protests reached a boiling point, followed by the killings of thousands of Iranians.

The intranet set up to offer some basic services during the state-imposed shutdown is slow and has failed to shore up online businesses. Traditional shops are also struggling to bring in customers.

Economic trouble persists

Amid a large deployment of armed security personnel, most shops are now open in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar – where the protests against the poor economic conditions started on December 28 – and other downtown business districts.

But a shopkeeper at the Grand Bazaar told Al Jazeera that business activity is a fraction of what it was several weeks ago.

“There’s not much life and energy in the markets these days,” he said on the condition of anonymity. “The worst thing is that everything is still so unpredictable. You can see that in the currency rate too.”

Iran’s rial has been in freefall after markets partially reopened this week, degrading trust in the national currency.

The rial hit a new all-time low of about 1.6 million per US dollar on Wednesday. Each greenback had changed hands for about 700,000 rials a year ago and about 900,000 in mid-2025.

However, Central Bank of Iran chief Abdolnasser Hemmati said at the meeting with the governors in Tehran that the currency market was “following its natural course”.

He said $2.25bn worth of foreign currency deals have in recent weeks been registered in a state-run market set up to manage imports and exports, which he described as an “acceptable and considerable figure”.

The comments from Hemmati – who was also the Central Bank chief from 2018 to 2021 and was impeached as economy minister in March – immediately drew fire from the ultraconservative Keyhan newspaper, whose editor-in-chief is directly appointed by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The newspaper said his comments run counter to the reality in the tumultuous currency market as well as Hemmati’s promises of price stability for essential goods when he re-emerged as the Central Bank governor last month.

While dealing with foreign pressure, Pezeshkian’s government has also been hounded by hardliners at home who have demanded immediate changes to his relatively moderate cabinet.

The infighting became so serious that the supreme leader publicly intervened, telling lawmakers in parliament and other officials during a speech last week that they are “forbidden” from “insulting” the president at a time when the country must focus on providing essential goods to the people.

Subsidy scheme

For his part, Pezeshkian has kept his rhetoric focused solely on “combating corruption” through an initiative that has eliminated a subsidised currency rate used for imports of certain goods, including food.

Pezeshkian’s government argued the subsidised allocated currency was being misused by state-linked organisations. The scheme was supposed to deliver cheaper imported food, but that has not been the case.

The money freed up by the initiative has been distributed as electronic coupons among Iranians to buy food from select stores at prices set by the government.

But each citizen will get only 10 million rials per month for four months. That figure amounted to just over $7 when it was announced during the protests early this month, but it is now worth closer to $6 as the fall of the national currency further erodes purchasing power.

To add insult to injury, the announcement of the subsidy scheme contributed to an abrupt tripling or quadrupling of prices for some essential goods, including cooking oil and eggs. Iran’s annual inflation rate remains untamed at nearly 50 percent and has been on a rising trajectory in recent months.

The top two state-run carmakers, which hold a large monopoly in Iran’s auto industry, have also been positioning themselves for yet another price hike as the end of the Iranian calendar year approaches in March.

One of the firms, Iran Khodro, said on Tuesday that it would increase prices by up to 60 percent while local media reported that the other, Saipa, was expected to follow suit. The government has reportedly intervened to delay or slow the price hikes.

TEDPIX, the main index of the Tehran Stock Exchange, continued its recent decline on Wednesday, losing 30,000 points to stand at 3,980,000. The index was at an all-time high of 4,500,000 last week, having made gains in early January.

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities continue to warn of serious ramifications in case of military strikes by the United States, as more people are being arrested in connection with deadly protests amid a lingering internet blackout.

Tehran’s municipality on Sunday unveiled a giant billboard at the Enghelab (Revolution) Square in the capital’s central area, in an apparent warning to the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier and supporting warplanes near Iranian waters.

The image showed a bird’s-eye view of an aircraft carrier with destroyed fighter jets on the deck and blood running in the water to form the US flag.

“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” read an accompanying message in Farsi and English.

Top military figures on Monday reiterated Iran’s readiness to engage in another war with Israel and the US in the case of an attack similar to last year’s 12-day conflict, while the Foreign Ministry promised a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response”.

Speaking to reporters during a news conference, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also warned “the resulting insecurity will undoubtedly affect everyone” amid reports regional actors have been directly appealing to US President Donald Trump, who on Thursday said a US “armada” is heading towards the Gulf.

As the European Union ponders listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” organisation following a vote in the European Parliament, Baghaei said Tehran believes “more prudent European countries should be careful not to fall into the trap of the devilish temptations of non-European parties toward such an action”.

The Iranian establishment’s remaining allies in the so-called “axis of resistance”, who took no action during June’s war, have also signalled that they may this time attack US and Israeli interests if conflict breaks out.

Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the chief of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, issued a fiery statement on Monday warning of “total war” in case of US aggression. Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem has repeatedly heaped praise on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including during a speech on Monday.

The Houthis in Yemen also released a video on Monday that showed US warships and previously attacked commercial vessels, indicating that they could once again become targets despite a Gaza ceasefire deal that stopped the attacks.

More protest-linked arrests reported

Meanwhile, judicial and intelligence authorities continue to report action against “rioters” as the Iranian establishment blames “terrorists” working in line with the interests of the US and Israel during the nationwide protests that started in late December.

Mohammadreza Rahmani, the head of the police authority in the northern province of Gilan, announced 99 new arrests in a statement on Sunday.

He alleged that those arrested were engaged in destroying public property or acted as “leaders” of unrest both on the streets and on social media.

State media said a person “who incited people, especially the youth”, in online posts to participate in protests was arrested in Bandar Anzali, also in the north.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which says it has confirmed 5,848 deaths during the protests, reported on Monday that at least 41,283 people have also been arrested across the country.

Iranian authorities have not announced any official arrest numbers, but said last week that at least 3,117 people were killed during the protests, including 2,427 described as “innocent” protesters or security forces.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify these figures.

Speaking during a meeting with top judiciary officials on Monday, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei reiterated his promise that “no mercy” will be shown when prosecuting protest-related cases.

He also expressed dismay at any calls for negotiations with the US amid what he called “an all-out war and economic blockade” against Iran.

“Some people portray all avenues for confronting the enemy’s aggression and coercion as blocked and repeatedly prescribe negotiation with a treacherous enemy,” he said.

Monitored internet access for businesspeople

Iranians across the country remain afflicted by an unprecedented total internet shutdown that has now lasted nearly three weeks.

A limited number of users have been able to tunnel out using proxies and virtual private networks (VPNs), but the authorities continue to block any proxies offering access to the outside world.

As with previous protests, internet access can only be restored through permission by the Supreme National Security Council, but the council has provided no timeline for reconnecting Iran’s 90-million-strong population.

In the meantime, the state appears to be gearing up to implement its longtime plans to enforce a so-called “tiered internet” that would only allow access to a limited number of permitted individuals and entities.

This week in Tehran, the authorities set up a small office to allow businesspeople who have identification from the Iran Chamber of Commerce to gain limited access to the internet.

Before being allowed to use the internet for a few minutes, they had to sign a form that committed them to use the connection for “business purposes” only, and emphasised they would be legally prosecuted if they “misuse” the opportunity.

A similar small office has also been opened for journalists by the Culture Ministry.

The rest of the population only has access to a local intranet designed to offer some basic services during state-imposed internet blackouts, but even that connection is slow and patchy.