Deaths in Iran's crackdown on protests reach at least 7,000, activists say
The Hindu
Activists report over 7,000 deaths in Iran's protest crackdown, highlighting ongoing violence amid difficult communication and government underreporting.
The death toll from a crackdown over Iran's nationwide protests last month has reached at least 7,002 people killed with many more still feared dead, activists said on Thursday (February 12, 2026).
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. The slow rise in the death toll has come as the agency slowly is able to crosscheck information as communication remains difficult with those inside of the Islamic Republic.
Iran's government offered its only death toll on January 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran's theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.
The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.
The rise in the death toll comes as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear programme.
Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani met on Wednesday (February 11, 2026) in Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in June, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June. Mr. Larijani also met with officials of the Palestinian Hamas militant group, and in Oman with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on Tuesday (February 10, 2026).
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