Iran protest crackdown leaves more than 4,000 dead, thousands detained, activists say

A violent crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has left at least 4,029 people dead, activists said Tuesday, Associated Press reported.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported that more than 26,000 people have been detained during the unrest. Of those killed, the group said 3,786 were protesters, 180 were members of the security forces, 28 were children, and 35 were not participating in demonstrations.

The agency, which has previously provided reliable casualty figures during periods of unrest in Iran, said it verifies deaths through a network of activists across the country. It warned the actual toll could be significantly higher. The Associated Press has not been able to independently verify the figures.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had his invitation to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, withdrawn because of the killings. In a statement, the forum said that while Araghchi had been invited last fall, the recent loss of civilian lives made it inappropriate for Iran to be represented at the event this year.

Araghchi condemned the decision, saying his appearance was cancelled due to “lies and political pressure from Israel and its US-based proxies and apologists.”

Separately, the Munich Security Conference also withdrew invitations to Iranian government officials over the crackdown.

Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll. However, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Saturday that “several thousand” people had been killed and blamed the United States for the violence. His remarks marked the first acknowledgement by a senior Iranian leader of the scale of casualties since protests erupted on December 28 over the country’s struggling economy.

Statements from Iranian officials have raised concerns that some detainees could face execution, as Iran remains one of the world’s leading users of capital punishment.

In a joint statement issued Monday, Iran’s president, judiciary chief and parliament speaker said those responsible for killings and what they described as terrorist acts would be punished, while leniency would be shown toward individuals who were misled and played no significant role in the unrest.