Iran Decries ‘Foreign Interference’ As Protest Death Toll Rises Significantly

The Iran protests have been raging for well over a week, and the death toll from the growing unrest which has spread to the majority of the country’s 31 provinces has been rising, fresh reporting indicates. 

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency is saying at least 35 people have been killed, based on numbers compiled by the group’s network of activists inside the country. Other accounts are conflicting, with some sources saying 20 killed and others saying 29 – but it’s clear that clashes with police are growing more violent.

Referencing the same agency, the Associated press says that “29 protesters, four children and two members of Iran’s security forces have been killed. Demonstrations have reached over 250 locations in 27 of Iran’s 31 provinces.”

Further, at least 1,200 have been arrested in the economic protests which were triggered by soaring costs and a spiraling currency, after years of US-led sanctions and a recent severe conflict with Israel, in which parts of the country were heavily bombed, especially in the capital area.

There are fresh reports Tuesday that Iranian protesters are clashing with security forces in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar – which is actually where it all started with shop owners shuttering their stores, after they concluded they are only set to lose money in selling goods.

Like with prior protest waves in Iran, it didn’t take long for a parallel ‘propaganda war’ to play out among the various competing interests and groups both within and outside the country. 

For example, human rights groups – all of which are based far outside the country – have accused the Iranian government’s security forces of “indiscriminate targeting of civilians”.

A large presence of protesters at the Bazaar intersection in Shahrekord.

Tuesday, January 6th. pic.twitter.com/E3pCr8usnH

— IranProtests.com (@IranProtestsCom) January 6, 2026

This completely unverified claim sounds similar to what many of these same groups said for just about every protest in the early days of the predominantly hardline Sunni uprising against former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

The same activists are alleging that in some places, Iranian police and security forces are putting down protests with live ammunition. One anonymous sources is cited in The Guardian as follows:

“We then gathered in front of a government building. That was when the forces opened fire on us. It felt as if they were shooting at enemies or armed groups. I felt like I was in a war zone. I saw several people injured, and I believe some were killed on the spot. We tried to take the wounded to hospitals and prevent government forces from arresting injured protesters,” the witness said.

Leadership in Tehran has offered to ‘listen’ to the protesters, but has still aggressively denounced efforts at foreign interference and destabilization plots.

For example, Iranian govt spokesman Esmail Baghaei said statements by some American and Israeli officials amounted to foreign interference which intentionally stirs up unrest.

Most circulating protest videos show standard riot control measures deployed, though in some clips gunshots can be heard ringing out, with little clear context.

Protesters in Arkavaz, Ilam Provice, Iran

Geolocation: 33.385030 46.599856 (@andynovy) pic.twitter.com/u7jZaMlAWS

— Faytuks Network (@FaytuksNetwork) January 6, 2026

“Actions or statements by figures such as the Israeli prime minister or certain radical and hardline US officials regarding Iran’s internal affairs amount, under international norms, to nothing more than incitement to violence, terrorism, and killing,” he said. There was also the last Trump warning from days ago directed at Iran: “If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they are going to get hit very hard by the United States,” Trump had warned on Truth Social.

Meanwhile, the former CIA Director…

And of course it’s long been well-known that both Israeli and likely the CIA have assets inside Iran – as was certainly demonstrated during the June war and 12-day bombing campaign, which further severely damaged at least three prime nuclear sites.