January 18, 2026
The Jerusalem Post – An Iranian official in the region said on Sunday the authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed in protests in Iran, including about 500 security personnel, blaming “terrorists and armed rioters” for killing “innocent Iranians.”

The official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also told Reuters some of the heaviest clashes and the highest number of deaths were in the Iranian Kurdish areas in northwest Iran, a region where Kurdish separatists have been active and where flare-ups have been among the most violent in past periods of unrest.

“The final toll is not expected to increase sharply,” the official said, adding that “Israel and armed groups abroad” had supported and equipped those taking to the streets.

The Iranians authorities regularly blame unrest on foreign enemies, including Israel, an arch foe of the Islamic Republic, which launched military strikes on Iran in June.

The US-based HRANA rights group said on Saturday the death toll had reached 3,308, with another 4,382 cases under review. The group said it had confirmed more than 24,000 arrests.

The Iranian Kurdish rights group Hengaw, based in Norway, has said some of the heaviest clashes during the protests that erupted in late December were in Kurdish areas in the northwest.

 

Unverified reports within Iran state some 16,500 protesters killed

Reports from doctors on the ground stated that at least 16,500 protesters have died and 330,000 have been injured, most of them during the beginning of the regime’s digital blackout on January 8 and 9, the Sunday Times reported.

The majority of the victims are believed to be under the age of 50, with posts shared within Iran mourning the deaths of a young fashion designer, three young footballers, a champion basketball player, a movie director, and more.

The doctors have been able to release their reports and share testimony with the Sunday Times using smuggled Starlink terminals.

“This is a whole new level of brutality,” said Professor Amir Parasta, an Iranian-German eye surgeon and medical director of Munich MED, who treated protesters injured in the Women, Life, Freedom protests in 2022.

“[In 2022] they were using rubber bullets and pellet guns, taking out eyes. This time they are using military-grade weapons, and what we are seeing are gunshot and shrapnel wounds in the head, neck, and chest.”