Iran’s Protests: What to Know About the Unrest and Death Toll

A deadly crackdown by Iran’s government appears to have largely suppressed protests that began in late December over economic woes and then broadened into a mass movement challenging the country’s authoritarian clerical rulers.

Though a communications blackout and a flow of disinformation have made it hard to independently assess what is going on inside Iran, on Monday, state-affiliated media reported plans for a gradual return of internet services.

Protests on the streets of Tehran, the capital, have been largely stamped out in recent days, according to several witnesses and a human rights group.

Thousands of people have been killed, including members of the security forces, according to a senior Iranian health ministry official,. Eyewitnesses and human rights groups say government forces fired on protesters in cities across the country.

President Trump repeatedly threatened to intervene militarily in Iran to protect the protesters, but later said he saw signs “the killing in Iran is stopping.” He also expressed willingness to negotiate with the Iranian government. There is little clarity on what the United States might do next.

Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has accused Israel and the United States of instigating the protests, which he said had killed thousands.