As anti-government protests in Iran sparked by economic hardship intensified for more than two weeks, the number of casualties has surged.
According to Iran Human Rights (IHR), a Norway-based civic group, on the 11th, the 15th day of the protests (local time), at least 192 deaths had been identified as of that day. That is about four times the figure of 51 the group released on the 9th.
IHR noted that Iranian authorities have blocked the internet and communications on the ground for more than 60 hours, adding, "According to unverified reports, some sources suggest more than 2,000 people may have been killed."
The group went on to say that deaths were concentrated over the two days on the 9th and 10th, and that there was testimony that hundreds of bodies of victims were seen at a morgue in the capital, Tehran.
HRANA, a U.S.-based human rights activist news agency, tallied that a total of 538 people appear to have died—490 civilians and 48 military and police—and more than 10,600 have been arrested. This is also five times the previous day's estimate (116).
Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, a director at IHR, said, "The massacre of protesters occurring since the nationwide internet shutdown could be far more extensive than we imagine," urging, "The international community must mobilize every possible measure to stop it."
Earlier, starting last week, Iranian authorities blocked the internet and communications and deployed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) ground forces, a spearhead of the theocracy's defense, in some regions as they focused on suppressing the protests.
Some Iranians cut off from outside communication had been using Starlink, the satellite internet network operated by SpaceX of Tesla CEO Elon Musk, but recently even that has reportedly been difficult to access.
On the same day, Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian, a reformist, also targeted the protesters in a state TV address, saying, "Our security and defense agencies must suppress them firmly," and criticizing, "Riots, attacks on public places, arson of mosques, and acts such as burning 'the book of God' (Quran) are all plans and conspiracies by the United States and Israel."
Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, said of U.S. President Donald Trump, who has hinted at intervention, that he is "delusional," warning, "An attack on Iran will make all U.S. military bases and military facilities in the region, as well as naval vessels, legitimate targets."