About 2,000 people including security personnel have been killed in protests in Iran, an Iranian official said on Tuesday, the first time authorities have acknowledged the high death toll from an intense crackdown on two weeks of nationwide unrest. The Iranian official, speaking to Reuters, said that what he called terrorists were behind the deaths of both protesters and security personnel. They have accused the US and Israel of fomenting unrest and said unnamed people they call terrorists have hijacked the protests. 2 4 Cars burn in a street during a protest over the collapse of the currency's value, in Tehran, Iran, January 8, 2026. Protests have broadened in Iran since they first erupted in the capital, Tehran, in December, with demonstrators now calling for an end to clerical rule.

Source: The Telegraph January 13, 2026 11:55 UTC