Death Toll Reaches Over 3,000 as Iran Claims Victory Over Street Demonstrations

The massive wave of protests that convulsed Iran for more than two weeks has diminished considerably, coinciding with President Donald Trump’s marked shift away from threats of military intervention toward a more conciliatory posture regarding the fate of detained demonstrators.

The president expressed gratitude Friday for Iran’s decision to cancel scheduled executions, marking an abrupt departure from his earlier stance. “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran. Thank you!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

This represents a dramatic reversal from just days earlier when the president had urged Iranians to continue their demonstrations and “take over institutions,” promising that “help is on its way.” The White House has not provided verification for the claim that 800 executions were scheduled or subsequently canceled, though Iran’s judiciary did confirm Thursday that one man previously feared to be facing imminent execution would be spared the death penalty.

The human cost of this uprising has been staggering. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, a U.S.-based organization that relies on sources within Iran, at least 3,090 people have been killed in the government’s crackdown, with 22,123 arrests reported. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, acknowledged publicly for the first time that “thousands” had perished, a significant increase from earlier official estimates of hundreds dead.

The vast majority of these deaths occurred after January 8, when Iranian authorities severed internet access across the nation. That blackout remains in effect, leaving the Iranian population largely isolated from global communication. Mobile phone text messaging services, also initially disabled, have been partially restored according to Fars, a semiofficial news agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Khamenei declared victory over what he characterized as American-backed agitation, stating that “the Iranian nation has defeated America” and that security forces have successfully detained key organizers of the unrest. In a public address, the supreme leader directed harsh criticism at President Trump personally.

“The president of the United States himself encouraged the agitators,” Khamenei said. “We consider the U.S. president a criminal, both for the casualties, for the damages, and for the slander directed at the Iranian nation.”

The Iranian leader emphasized that while his government has “no intention of leading the country into war,” authorities “will not let domestic criminals go unpunished.”

The demonstrations originated from economic grievances as Iran’s rial currency collapsed and inflation accelerated dramatically. What began as protests over economic hardship evolved into one of the most significant challenges the Islamic Republic has confronted in its 47-year history, with thousands taking to the streets demanding fundamental change.

Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, noted the unprecedented nature of the government’s response. “The Iranian regime has a bloody track record, but as the toll soars there may well be no precedent to the speed and ferocity with which it’s acted this time,” he stated.

As the streets of Iran’s major cities have quieted, the full scope of this uprising and its suppression remains obscured by the ongoing communications blackout, leaving the international community with an incomplete picture of events that have profoundly shaken one of the Middle East’s most significant powers.