2026 Iran massacres
Since late December 2025, Iranian security forces have committed massacres against civilians in the 2025–26 Iranian protests., total death toll estimates ranged from 3,117 to upwards of 36,500 including 209 government-affiliated military and non-military personnel, making them some of the largest massacres in modern Iranian history.
The Iranian authorities imposed a near-total internet shutdown during the crackdown, restricting communication inside the country and limiting the flow of information about the killings to the outside world. Esmaeil Baghayi, the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that security forces had shot protesters.
On 25 January, Time reported that a specific list included 30,304 protest-related deaths registered in civilian hospitals for 8 and 9 January alone. The same day, Iran International estimated the number at above 36,500. On 28 January, The Guardian reported that the death toll could be more than 30,000, and that less than 10% of deaths may have been officially registered.
Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, has been described as the mastermind of the massacres, according to former Iranian government officials, while the crackdown was carried out under Ali Khamenei's and senior officials' order for live fire on protesters. Khamenei himself ordered "to crush the protests by any means necessary". As of 19 January 2026, the Iranian government had reasserted control over the protests. Reports emerged of dancing at funerals of massacre victims as a form of resistance.
Khamenei acknowledged that "thousands of people" had been killed during these protests, blaming the US president Donald Trump for the massacre, and calling all protesters "rioters and terrorists" affiliated with the US and Israeli governments. The Iranian government put the death toll at 3,117, stating that 2,447 were civilians and security forces, and the rest were "terrorists". Iran International says that they have a list of confirmed 6,634 deaths, and that less than 100 names in the list of 2,986 names on the list published by the government overlap with that list, and therefore labeling statements from the government as "a shameful attempt to downplay the scale of the largest street massacre in Iran’s contemporary history."
Background
Prior to the 2025–26 protests, the higher range of numbers of protester deaths and mass political prisoner executions in events during the Islamic Republic have included 3,400 executions during the 1981–1982 Iran massacres and 1,000 to 30,000 executions in 1988, 72 protestor deaths during the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests, 300–1,500 protestor deaths during the 2019–2020 protests, and 551 during the 2022–2023 Mahsa Amini protests.| Date | Event | Estimates | Sources |
| 1981–1982 | 1981–1982 Iran massacres | 3,400 | |
| 1988 | 1988 executions | 1,000–30,000 | |
| 2009 | 2009 election protests | 72 | |
| 2019–2020 | 2019–2020 protests | 300–1,500 | |
| 2022–2023 | Mahsa Amini protests | 551 |
Casualty figures
Human rights organisations and independent media
According to HRANA, the news agency of the Human Rights Activists in Iran, during the first ten days of nationwide protests, though to 6 January inclusive, at least 34 protesters were killed, and at least 2,076 citizens arrested in at least 285 locations. On 7 January, 13 protesters were killed, bringing the total to 45, per Iran Human Rights.Based on verified reports and video footage, during the first seven days of protests, security forces made extensive use of live ammunition, tear gas and crowd-control weapons, and conducted violent arrests. The Guardian reported that at least three children were killed and over 40 minors were arrested during eight days of protests. Iran International estimated on 10 January that 2,000 protesters had been killed over the preceding 48 hours, while Time magazine reported that the number may have been as high as 6,000.
On 8 January, at least 217 were killed in Tehran., the internet blackout limited reporting on casualties. Iran International estimated on 10 January that at least 2,000 protesters had been killed by government forces over the previous 48 hours. On 12 January, Time reported that the number of protesters killed might have reached 6,000, excluding protesters whose bodies were taken directly to morgues.
On 13 January, Iran International concluded a multi-stage investigation, and based on government sources, eyewitness accounts, field reports, data from hospitals and testimonies from Iranian doctors and nurses, ascertained that at least 12,000 civilians had been killed. According to the report, the mass killings took place during 8–9 January, and were largely perpetrated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and members of the Basij militia. Planned and conducted in an organized manner, and, based on information obtained from the Supreme National Security Council and the Presidential Office, it was ordered by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself, with the approval of the three branches of government. Furthermore, an order was given by the Supreme National Security Council for direct fire. On 25 January, The New York Times reported that Ali Khamenei himself ordered "to crush the protests by any means necessary". A senior government official was quoted as saying that security forces were given the green light to kill indiscriminately, including civilians, in order to "spread fear and deter further protests in Iran".
On 13 January, CBS News, citing activist groups, stated the death toll may be as high as 20,000. On 17 January, The Sunday Times reported that at least 16,500 to 18,000 people had been killed and 330,000 were injured. In a speech broadcast by Iranian state media on 17 January, Ali Khamenei said that "several thousand" people were killed during the protests in Iran. On 18 January, an Iranian official told Reuters that Iranian government estimates put the total death toll from the massacres at over 5,000. On 22 January, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran stated the number of civilians killed may surpass 20,000.
On 22 January, HRANA updated its verified death counts to 4,714 adult protesters, 42 minors, 207 security force members, and 39 non-participants; and its count of deaths still under investigation to 9,798 people. NewsNation stated that its sources estimated the death count to be "closer to 30,000" than to HRANA's counts. The HRANA death count including deaths under investigation grew above 20,000 on 24 January, with counts of 5,149 adult protesters, 60 minors, 208 security force members, 42 non-participants, and 17,031 deaths under investigation, making 22,490 in total. HRANA stated that the overall level of repression was unprecedented.
A count of 25,654 "clinically reported deaths" for dates "up to 23 January" was stated by a doctor, Amir Parasta, on the basis of medical records "verified by at least two individuals in each medical organisation". Sky News published the count on 29 January. A count of 25,654 deaths was published by The Sunday Times on 24 January as a "clinically verified" update from the doctors' network that had earlier reported a count of 16,500.
On 24 January, The Sunday Times reported a statement by Reza Pahlavi that according to "activists and political prisoners" in Iran and "medical authorities", the total death toll was 50,000, including 15,000 deaths in Tehran.
On 25 January, Time reported an estimate of about 30,000 protesters killed on 8 and 9 January alone. Amir Parasta, described by Time as a German–Iranian surgeon, stated to Time a total of 30,304 protest-related deaths from hospital records, excluding protest-related deaths recorded in military hospitals, deaths where the body was taken directly to a morgue, and deaths recorded in hospitals absent from the list. Time also referred to two senior officials who stated to Time that 30,000 "could have been killed", that the administration ran out of body bags, and that semi-trailer trucks were used instead of ambulances. On the same day, Iran International reported a series of official reports with death tolls to above 35,000. Reports to the Ministry of Interior on 20 January gave a count above 30,000. A 21 January report provided to the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Parliament gave a count of 27,500. Reports by the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were of 33,000 on 22 January and 36,500 on 24 January.
On 27 January, a "network of more than 80 medical professionals across 12 of Iran's 31 provinces" in contact with The Guardian estimated that based on their observations, less than 10% of deaths were being officially registered. They inferred that the total "could exceed 30,000".
On 28 January, HRANA updated its verified death counts to 5,993 adult protesters, 113 minors, 214 security force members, and 53 non-participants; and its count of deaths still under investigation to 17,091 people. On 1 February, HRANA's verified death counts increased to 6,425 adult protesters, 146 minors, and 57 non-participants; while the security force death count remained at 214. The number of death cases still under investigation dropped to 11,280 names.
A doctor, Yaser Rahmani–Rad, stated to Sky News that his network of doctors had previously estimated 20 to 30 thousand protest-related deaths, and at the time of the interview, published on 29 January, judged that the true value "could be higher".
Iranian government
On 22 January 2026, Iran Human Rights argued that Iranian government sources "ha a documented and long-standing record of systematically underreporting deadly state violence". IHRNGO stated that based on verified executions of prisoners in Iran over the preceding five years, the official government figures only covered "an annual average of 12% of the executions recorded by IHRNGO".On 1 February, the Office of the President of Iran published a list of 2986 people killed in "recent incidents" out of the 3,117 that it had earlier stated as having been killed during the protests, stating that 131 identities were not yet determined. According to HRANA, the list was mostly unverifiable, due to "lack key information such as the time and place of death, the individual's status, and a description of the circumstances".