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Anti-government protests in Iran have escalated and left over 2,000 people dead, according to rights groups and security officials.
Protests began in Tehran, the country’s capital, on December 28 over the collapse of the Iranian currency, and the protests have since spread to towns and cities nationwide, and turned against the nation’s clerical rulers.
The demonstrations are fuelled by citizens’ complaints of economic hardships blamed on mismanagement, Western sanctions and curbs on freedoms.
The Hunan Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had verified the deaths of 2,003 people during the protests, including 1,850 protesters, 135 government-affiliated individuals, nine people aged under 18, and nine non-protester civilians.
The group also said the total number of people detained is 16,784.
A digital blackout has been in place in the Middle Eastern country since last Thursday, according to NetBlocks, internet monitor, as part of the government’s crackdown on protests.
On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump told Iranians to keep protesting, saying “help” was on the way.
Though he did not give further details on the kind of help he was referring to, Trump has recently floated the possibility of military intervention in Iran.
Foreign nations including the United Kingdom, Italy, and Germany have condemned the violent government crackdown and summoned the Iranian envoys in their countries.
