Tehran, Iran – The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) revealed shocking figures in its report released at the end of the 18th day of widespread protests in Iran, reflecting the scale of state violence and the broad scope of the unrest, which has spread to all provinces of the country. This comes amid growing international concern over escalating repression and a decline in the ability to document events on the ground.
617 marches in 187 cities
HRANA’s statistics showed 617 protest marches in 187 cities across the country’s 31 provinces. This indicates the widespread geographical reach of the protests and their persistence despite the tight security grip.
The agency noted that on the 18th day, communications with the outside world remained cut off. Access to reliable field evidence was also restricted compared to the peak days of the protests.
Mass arrests and forced confessions
Regarding the security situation, HRANA documented the arrest of at least 18,470 people since the protests began. In addition, 105 cases of confessions extracted under duress were recorded.
Furthermore, 2,054 people were reported to have sustained serious injuries as a result of excessive force, raising serious concerns about the conditions of detainees in detention centers.
More than 2,600 dead
As for human losses, the total number of confirmed deaths reached 2,615, including 2,435 protesters, among them 13 children under the age of 18. The deaths of 14 civilians not participating in the protests were also recorded.
In contrast, 153 members of the army and pro-government forces were killed. Investigations are still ongoing into 882 other deaths whose circumstances remain undetermined.
US accusations of using military technologies
In parallel with these developments, the United States directly accused the Iranian regime of using advanced military technology to suppress peaceful protests. It considered these actions to be a form of warfare against the Iranian people.
Drones to pursue protesters
The official Persian-language account of the US State Department on the X platform revealed that Iranian authorities are resorting to using military drones as a tool for internal repression. It explained that these drones are being used to identify protesters, track their movements in the field, and pursue them, thus facilitating arrests carried out by security forces.
In a strongly worded statement, the US State Department asserted that the Islamic Republic regime views Iranian citizens as enemy combatants. It further emphasized that what is happening is a war waged by the regime against its own people, stressing that the world sees these violations and will not forget them.
