By Guy Birchall

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said on Jan. 18 that it estimates at least 3,919 people have been killed during the recent protests in Iran, adding that 8,949 additional deaths are still under investigation by the organization.

The death toll, if accurate, will have exceeded that of any unrest in the Islamic Republic for decades, and even outstrips the figure attributed to the 1979 revolution, which brought the current regime to power.

The agency said about 2,109 people have been severely injured, and the number of confirmed detainees has reached 24,669. The Epoch Times is unable to verify the figures.

HRANA said the figures are based solely on “verified individual reports” and are likely to be much higher.

“Given the internet shutdown, communication restrictions, and limited independent access to information, the actual numbers are likely significantly higher than reported,” the organization said.

Tehran has not given a clear death toll. Iranian leader Ali Khamenei said the protests had left several thousand people dead and blamed the United States and Israel for their demise.

“Agents of the US and the Zionist regime committed heinous crimes in this sedition. They vandalized 250 mosques and over 250 educational & scientific centers,” he wrote in a Jan. 17 post on X.

“They damaged the power grid, banks, and healthcare facilities. They murdered several thousand people.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also laid the blame for the protests at the feet of the United States.

“If there is hardship and constraint in the lives of the dear people of Iran, one of the main factors is the long-standing hostility and the inhumane sanctions of the U.S. government and its allies,” he wrote in a Jan. 18 post on X. “Any aggression against the Supreme Leader of our country is tantamount to an all-out war against the Iranian nation.”

President Donald Trump threatened Iran with military action if his administration found the regime to be using deadly force against anti-government protesters. During the protests, Trump also told demonstrators that “help is on the way.”

Trump condemned Khamenei and the Islamic regime in an interview with Politico on Jan. 17, calling Iran “the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership.”

“In order to keep the country functioning—even though that function is a very low level—the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” Trump said.

When asked about the size of a possible U.S. military operation in Iran, Trump said, “The best decision Khamenei ever made was not hanging more than 800 people two days ago.”

In a Jan. 16 post on Truth Social, Trump said, “I greatly respect the fact that all scheduled hangings, which were to take place yesterday (Over 800 of them), have been cancelled by the leadership of Iran.”

The comment was made after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there was no plan for the regime to carry out mass executions.

The Iranian judiciary indicated on Jan. 18 that executions may be forthcoming.

“A series of actions have been identified as Mohareb, which is among the most severe Islamic punishments,” Iranian judiciary spokesperson Asghar Jahangir said during a press conference on Jan. 18.

Moharebeh is an Islamic-Arabic term that translates to “war against God,” and the death penalty is among the punishments for those found guilty of the offense under the Iranian regime’s rule.

No large-scale protests have been reported in the country for days, with the Khamenei saying the government had “extinguished the fires of sedition.”

The Associated Press, Bill Pan, and Jacob Burg contributed to this report.