Sky News's specialist Data and Forensics unit has verified extensive details of a brutal state crackdown on protests in Iran, which has left more than two thousand people dead amid a severe nationwide internet blackout.
Verified Scale of Unrest and State Response
Our team has identified and verified a total of 881 separate protest events across all 31 of Iran's provinces since the unrest began in Tehran on 28 December. The peak of observed activity was on 8 January, with 179 events logged, coinciding directly with the regime's imposition of a comprehensive internet shutdown.
Since that blackout, the volume of verifiable protest footage has dropped significantly, a decline analysts attribute at least partially to the restricted flow of information. In the latest 48-hour period analysed, half of the dozen verified protests occurred in the capital, Tehran, with others in Marvdasht in the south and Urmia in the north.
Security forces have escalated their response, firing tear gas and stun grenades at demonstrators in at least three different cities since 11 January. Researchers suggest that the higher volume of videos emerging from some urban areas may be linked to better access to tools like Starlink internet, providing rare windows into the situation.
The Mounting Human Cost: Deaths and Arrests
The human toll of the crackdown is severe and growing. According to verified data from the Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 2,003 people have died since the protests began. This figure has been echoed by an Iranian official speaking to Reuters.
Sky News has collected the names of approximately 100 reported fatalities and has independently confirmed detailed circumstances for at least 75 individuals. Among the confirmed victims is at least one 15-year-old. Of the verified deaths, 1,850 are identified as protesters and 135 as security personnel.
HRANA is investigating a further 779 reported deaths, which could push the total beyond 2,700. The dissident People's Mojahedin Organisation of Iran (PMOI) claims the death toll has already exceeded 3,000 across 195 cities, a figure Sky News has not yet independently verified.
The scale of arrests is staggering. HRANA reports that 16,784 people are believed to have been detained in just over two weeks, with over 8,000 of those arrests recorded on a single day, 11 January.
Information Blackout and Forensic Evidence
The internet shutdown that began on 8 January has severely hampered the flow of information, making verification a painstaking process. HRANA verifies deaths using aggregated visual documentation and evidence from morgue facilities.
One piece of verified footage shows body bags inside a forensics institute in Kahrizak, south of Tehran. Analysis suggests that a single morgue in that location contained around 250 bodies, indicating the potential scale of fatalities that remains officially unacknowledged.
Experts warn that the true figures for both deaths and arrests are likely higher and may only become clearer if and when full communication is restored. The current environment of repression and restricted access means the full picture of Iran's protest crackdown remains deliberately obscured.
