1 month after Iran regime's deadliest crackdown, the death toll mounts as repression deepens

At least 200 students are believed to have been killed by Iranian government forces in the protests.

One month after Iran was rocked by the beginning of the deadliest crackdown in its modern history, the full toll of the regime’s response to nationwide protests is still coming into focus. 

On Jan. 8 and 9, Iranian security forces launched what activists describe as the most brutal assault yet on citizens who had poured into streets across the country, chanting for regime change. 

While international media coverage has gradually shifted toward renewed negotiations between the United States and the Islamic Republic over Tehran’s nuclear program, human rights groups and Iranians inside and outside the country warn that repression on the ground has intensified. They describe an atmosphere of fear, torture, and systemic violence ruling the country. 

As of Monday, more than 6,400 protesters have been killed and over 51,500 arrested on charges linked to the demonstrations, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA). Over 11,000 more related deaths remain under review. ABC News cannot independently verify these numbers.

Farsi-language social media remains flooded with images of the dead, missing and detained. Videos show families grieving loved ones killed in the streets, while others are pleas from relatives searching for missing family members in morgues and prisons, or seeking legal support for those behind bars.