DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) \u2014 A U.S.-based activist agency said Sunday it has verified at least 3,919 deaths during a wave of protests that swept Iran and\u2026<\/b>
\nArab Emirates A U.S.-based activist agency said Sunday it has verified at least 3,919 deaths during a wave of protests that swept Iran and led to a bloody crackdown, and fears the number could be significantly higher.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency posted the revised figure, up from the previous toll of 3,308. The death toll exceeds that of any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades, and recalls the chaos surrounding the 1979 revolution.
The agency has been accurate throughout the years of demonstrations in Iran, relying on a network of activists inside the country that confirms all reported fatalities. The Associated Press has been unable to independently confirm the toll.
Iranian officials have not given a clear death toll, although on Saturday, the country\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the protests had left \u201cseveral thousand\u201d people dead \u2014 and blamed the United States for the deaths. It was the first indication from an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties from the wave of protests that began Dec. 28 over Iran\u2019s ailing economy.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency says 24,669 protesters have been arrested in the crackdown.
Iranian officials have repeatedly accused the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest in the country.
Tension with the United States has been high, with U.S. President Donald Trump repeatedly threatening Tehran with military action if his administration found the Islamic Republic was using deadly force against anti-government protesters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a post Sunday on X, blamed \u201clongstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions\u201d imposed by the U.S. and its allies for any hardships the Iranian people might be facing. \u201cAny aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to all-out war against the Iranian nation,\u201d he wrote.
During the protests, Trump had told demonstrators that \u201c help is on the way \u201d and that his administration would \u201cact accordingly\u201d if the killing of demonstrators continued or if Iranian authorities executed detained protesters.
But he later struck a conciliatory tone, saying that Iranian officials had \u201ccanceled the hanging of over 800 people\u201d and that \u201cI greatly respect the fact that they canceled.\u201d
A family member of detained Iranian protester Erfan Soltani said Sunday that the 26-year-old is in good physical health and was able to see his family days after his planned execution was postponed.
Somayeh, a 45-year-old close relative of Soltani who is living abroad, told AP that his family had been told his execution would be set for Wednesday but it was postponed when they reached the prison in Karaj, a city northwest of Tehran.
\u201cI ask everyone to help in securing Erfan\u2019s freedom,\u201d Somayeh, who asked to be identified by first name only for fear of government reprisal, said in a video message.
On Saturday, Khamenei branded Trump a \u201ccriminal\u201d for supporting the rallies and blamed the U.S. for the casualties, describing the protesters as \u201cfoot soldiers\u201d of the United States.
Trump, in an interview with Politico on Saturday, called for an end to Khamenei\u2019s nearly 40-year reign, calling him as \u201ca sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people.\u201d
No protests have been reported for days in Iran, where the streets have returned to an uneasy calm. Instead, some Iranians chanted anti-Khamenei slogans from the windows of their homes on Saturday night, the chants reverberating around neighborhoods in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan, witnesses said.
Authorities have also blocked access to the internet since Jan. 8. On Saturday, very limited internet services functioned again briefly. Access to some online services such as Google began working again on Sunday, although users said they could access only domestic websites, and email services continued to be blocked.
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Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.
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