"More than 2,000 may have been killed"… Death toll in Iran’s 'living hell' surges

As anti-government protests in Iran, sparked by economic hardship, enter a third week, the number of casualties is rising rapidly.

On the 11th (local time), Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based organization, said it had confirmed at least 192 deaths as of that day. That is a nearly fourfold jump from the 51 reported by the group on the 9th.

Pointing to the fact that Iranian authorities have shut down internet and communications locally for more than 60 hours, IHR said that "according to unverified reports, some sources raise the possibility that more than 2,000 people may have died." It added that deaths were concentrated over the two days of the 9th–10th, and that there were reports that hundreds of bodies of victims who had taken part in the protests were found at a morgue in Tehran.

Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of IHR, said, "Over the past three days, especially since a nationwide internet blackout, the massacre of protesters now taking place could be far more widespread than we imagine," urging that "the international community mobilize every possible means to stop it."

Accounts that the casualty toll is climbing quickly have emerged from multiple quarters. Time, the U.S. current-affairs weekly, cited a doctor in Tehran as saying at least 217 deaths had been confirmed at six hospitals, with most of them killed by live ammunition. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said the death toll exceeded 116, including civilians and security forces.

In addition, compiling foreign media reports, medical staff at hospitals in major cities including Tehran said, "young protesters are being brought in after being shot in the head and heart," conveying the horrific conditions on the ground. With morgues running out of space, bodies are being left stacked on top of one another, and some hospitals are reportedly even using prayer rooms as makeshift mortuaries.

U.S. President Donald Trump hinted at the possibility of military intervention. According to foreign media, Trump has already been briefed on specific options, including strikes on non-military and military facilities in Tehran, and is weighing whether to proceed. Via his SNS (Truth Social), Trump said, "Iran is closer to freedom than ever before. The United States is ready to help," warning that if an operation is carried out, he would "hit them very hard where it hurts."

As the United States signaled it could intervene militarily over Iran’s bloody crackdown on protesters, Israel—Washington’s key ally in the Middle East—moved to a heightened state of alert. That is because if the U.S. launches a military attack on Iran, Israel, the U.S.’s closest ally in the region, would be highly likely to face retaliatory strikes. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was reported to have discussed pending issues such as military operations against Iran in a call that day with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The Iranian regime led by Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is being seen as believing it has no alternative but a hardline crackdown. In a speech on state broadcaster IRIB the previous day, Ayatollah Khamenei labeled protesters "rioters," saying, "some rioters are ruining the streets and pleasing the presidents of other countries," and vowed, "we will never back down," signaling a tough response. Addressing Trump, he said, "mind your own country’s situation." Police chief Ahmad Reza Radan also told state media that "the level of confrontation with the rioters has increased," warning that the crackdown would be intensified.

Hong Min-sung, Hankyung.com reporter mshong@hankyung.com