Death toll in Iran protests over 3,000, rights group says

More than 3,000 people have died in Iran’s nationwide protests, rights activists said on Saturday, while a “very slight rise” in internet activity was reported in the country after an eight-day blackout.The US-based HRANA group said it had verified 3,090 deaths, including 2,885 protesters, after residents said the crackdown appeared to have broadly quelled protests for now and state media reported more arrests.The Iranian government has blamed much of the violence on people it says are armed rioters posing as protesters, labelling them “terrorists” and claiming that Israel and the US were behind organizing them and responsible for many of the deaths of demonstrators and security forces.The capital Tehran has been comparatively quiet for four days, said several residents reached by Reuters.Drones were flying over the city, but there were no signs of major protests on Thursday or Friday, said the residents, who asked not to be identified for their safety.The protests erupted on December 28 over economic hardship and swelled into widespread demonstrations calling for the end of clerical rule in the Islamic Republic, culminating in mass violence late last week.According to opposition groups and an Iranian official, more than 2,000 people were killed in the worst domestic unrest since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.“Metrics show a very slight rise in internet connectivity in #Iran this morning” after 200 hours of shutdown, the internet monitoring group NetBlocks posted on X.Connectivity remained around 2% of ordinary levels, it said.The semi-official Mehr News Agency reported that internet service had been restored for some users.

The ISNA news website said SMS service had also been reactivated.A resident of Karaj, west of Tehran, reached by phone via WhatsApp, said he noticed the internet was back at 4 a.m.on Saturday.Karaj experienced some of the most severe violence during the protests.The resident, who asked not to be identified, said Thursday ...