Iranian Security Forces Kill At Least 45 Protesters, Including Eight Children

Anti-government protests that began with bazaar strikes over soaring prices have spread nationwide, entering a thirteenth day as markets, students and cities across Iran mobilized in large numbers.

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RNZ reports the unrest as the largest challenge to the regime since 2022, saying it began as bazaar strikes over sudden spikes in prices for staples and has spread to more than 100 cities.

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NDTV likewise describes large, nationwide anti-regime protests that began in Tehran's Grand Bazaar and have drawn massive crowds.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) frames the origin as a Dec. 28 bazaar strike tied to an inflation crisis and says protests have spread to universities and dozens of cities.

Together these accounts show a sustained, multi-sector mobilization rooted in economic and currency collapse, with different sources emphasizing markets, students and Generation Z involvement.

Rights groups and monitoring organisations report heavy casualties.

The Norway-based Iran Human Rights NGO is cited by RNZ and CNN as saying "at least 45" protesters have died, "including eight children," while other outlets and monitoring groups give lower but similar tallies such as NDTV and Republic World reporting around 42 dead and U.S.-based compilations cited by CatholicVote noting about 39 deaths.

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The NCRI lists specific provincial clashes and reports multiple deaths in places such as Lordegan and Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari provinces.

Across these sources the overall picture is dozens killed, hundreds injured and thousands detained, although exact tallies vary between different monitors and reports.

Multiple accounts describe a forceful security response.

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Azat TV reports that security forces including the IRGC and police reportedly used disproportionate force — rifles, shotguns loaded with metal pellets, water cannons, tear gas and beatings — to disperse largely peaceful protesters.

The report also alleges hospital raids and assaults on medical staff, which the U.S. State Department called a "crime against humanity."

RNZ and CNN note that state media portrayed some protesters as armed and that authorities cut internet and telephone access after major demonstrations.

NDTV and The Logical Indian highlight severe connectivity disruptions.

Together, these sources document both heavy-handed crowd-control tactics and broad digital censorship accompanying the crackdown.

Exiled figures and international reactions feature prominently and show differing frames.

Several outlets report exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi calling for demonstrations.

BBC

Azat TV said his plea appeared to have helped 'turn the tide.'

NDTV reports Pahlavi urged Western leaders to help restore communications and 'hold the regime to account.'

Al Jazeera notes Pahlavi thanked former U.S. President Trump and said 'millions' protested.

At the same time, Al Jazeera and CNN cite direct responses from Iran’s leadership, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, accusing foreign interference and highlighting U.S.-Iran tensions.

Some outlets caution that several dramatic international claims in reporting remain unverified.

Diaspora rallies in Europe and calls for Western support are also reported by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) and Republic World.

Verification challenges and digital censorship complicate a clear picture.

“Jack GreyLive reporter Demonstrations have been held across Europe, including outside the Iranian embassy in London Iran is approaching the end of its 13th day of widespread anti-government protests which have so farseen 48 protesters killed, according to two human rights groups”

BBC

Multiple outlets report widespread internet outages and phone blackouts, with CatholicVote and RNZ citing NetBlocks and NDTV and The Logical Indian reporting severe connectivity disruptions.

CatholicVote org

Several outlets explicitly warn that casualty figures cannot be independently verified; RNZ notes that CNN could not independently verify those figures, and CNN reports similar verification limits.

Some sources are off-topic or provide no conventional reporting—for example, Decrypt’s entry is a data dump of numeric values and offers no narrative—illustrating variation in coverage depth and focus across the available material.

Given these verification limits, the varying tallies and claims should be treated as provisional.