US-based activist agency says it has verified 3,919 deaths from Iran
protests
[January 19, 2026]
By ELENA BECATOROS
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — 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’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the
protests had left “several thousand” people dead — 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’s 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
“longstanding enmity and inhumane sanctions” imposed by the U.S. and its
allies for any hardships the Iranian people might be facing. “Any
aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to
all-out war against the Iranian nation,” he wrote.
During the protests, Trump had told demonstrators that “ help is on the
way ” and that his administration would “act accordingly” 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 “canceled the hanging of over 800 people” and that “I greatly
respect the fact that they canceled.”
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In this photo released by an official website of the office of the
Iranian supreme leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks
in a meeting, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. (Office of
the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
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.
“I ask everyone to help in securing Erfan’s freedom,” 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 “criminal” for supporting the
rallies and blamed the U.S. for the casualties, describing the
protesters as “foot soldiers” of the United States.
Trump, in an interview with Politico on Saturday, called for an end
to Khamenei’s nearly 40-year reign, calling him as “a sick man who
should run his country properly and stop killing people.”
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.
___
Associated Press writer Farnoush Amiri in New York contributed.
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