Death toll in Iran protest crackdown rises to 29 - rights group

The source told Iran International that Reza was shot by security forces during the protests on Thursday, January 1, 2026 in front of Azna’s central police station.

Security forces shot him with two bullets, one to the head and another to the lower torso, the source added.

The source said Reza was from the Abdolvand tribe, part of Iran’s Lur minority.

Video evidence verified and analyzed by Iran International from the evening of January 1 shows Reza unconscious and bleeding from the side of his head. Two sources identified the teenager in the footage as Reza.

After he was shot, citizens at the scene transferred him to Valian Hospital in Aligudarz. The source said the hospital was under heavy security and visits were not allowed, adding that only once, after repeated insistence, was Reza’s mother allowed to see him briefly.

The source said Reza died in hospital on Monday around 10am local time.

The source added that the family has approached several state institutions on Monday, including the police and the Revolutionary Guards, to receive Reza’s body, but authorities have so far refused to hand it over to family for burial.

Reza was the eldest child in the family and his father is a labourer, the source said.

“The family’s financial situation was poor," the source said adding that Reza dropped out of school and worked as an auto body repair and paint apprentice.

Asked about Reza’s motivation for joining the protests, the source said it was due to “poverty, hardship and rising prices,” adding that he was interested in sports, particularly wrestling.

The photo, posted on Senator Lindsey Graham’s account on X, shows the two men smiling aboard Air Force One as Trump holds the hat which he has signed.

Trump first deployed the slogan at the height of a 12-day war in June, saying that if Iran’s rulers couldn’t “make Iran great again,” regime change should be on the table.

“God bless and protect the brave people of Iran who are standing up to tyranny,” Graham wrote, referring to nationwide protests now in their ninth day.

Holly Dagres, an Iran expert at the Washington Institute, told Iran International that while the photo leaves room for interpretation it at least shows the Iran issue is on the president's radar.

“While much of the world’s focus is squarely on Venezuela, President Donald Trump’s comments about the ongoing protests and posing with the MIGA hat suggest his mind is also on Iran,” Dagres said.

“It’s hard to interpret what the president’s next steps are, but the clerical establishment won’t be resting easy," she said.

Demonstrators across Iran continue to chant slogans against the country’s supreme leader in protests which entered their ninth day.

Trump has twice warned that the United States will respond forcefully if Iranian authorities kill protesters. According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 19 protesters and one member of the security forces have been killed so far.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, suggested the message could ripple beyond the White House.

“Hopefully his statement has a contagion effect in the Congress and helps the administration adhere to its own red line about standing by the Iranian people and taking down their apparatus of repression,” he told Iran International.

Others see the moment as part of a broader warning directed at Tehran. Kamran Matin, who teaches International Relations at Sussex University in Britain, described Trump’s messaging as layered and intentional.

“More broadly, the remarkable success of Trump in leading targeted and consequential operations, from the assassination of Qassem Soleimani to the bombing of Iran’s nuclear sites to the seizure of Nicolas Maduro has likely increased Trump’s appetite for using limited military force to achieve political ends in Iran now that the regime is in its weakest point,” he told Iran International.

The image has fueled anticipation online about whether Trump might pursue tougher measures toward Tehran, particularly after the US seizure of Venezuela and previous strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Greg Brew, an Iran analyst with the Eurasia Group, told Iran International the symbolism of the photo could suggest a willingness to go further.

“Trump has already secured for himself a legacy of doing what no other president would do — bombing Iran’s nuclear program. But recent protests and the success of the Maduro operation suggest he may go further,” Brew said.

The Human Rights Activists News Agency said it had confirmed the deaths of seven protesters over the past 24 hours, including people killed in Azna, Marvdasht and Qorveh.

Of the 29 confirmed fatalities, two were members of Iran’s security forces. At least 64 protesters were also reported wounded, mainly by pellet and plastic bullets.

Iran International has independently identified 21 victims so far through interviews with relatives and friends.

Protests and strikes continued nationwide for a ninth day despite an intensified security presence and the use of live ammunition in some areas.

Verified data show that demonstrations, street rallies or labor strikes took place in at least 257 locations across 88 cities in 27 provinces. Protests were also reported at 17 universities, HRANA said

The report added that at least 1,203 protesters have been arrested so far, though the actual number is believed to be higher.

Mass arrests were reported in cities including Bojnord, Qazvin, Isfahan, Tehran, and Babol, with students among those detained.

HRANA said internet disruptions, security restrictions, and limited access to independent sources continue to hinder full verification of casualties and arrests.

US Senator Mark Warner voiced support for Iranian protesters but raised doubts about President Donald Trump’s intervention threats toward Tehran.

“I think it's extraordinary, the courage of the Iranian people, their willingness to go to the streets to ask for a better life. And I am concerned that the regime, as we've seen in past protests, may use violence to quell these demonstrations,” Senator Warner told Iran International on Monday.​

“We've seen this repeatedly, after the brutal killing of the young woman a few years ago, and then even before that, the so‑called Green Revolution. So my heart is with the Iranian people; how we can also then lend them more than verbal support is something that we've got to look at,” the Democratic senator from Virginia added.

Asked about the threats issued by President Trump, Senator Warner said Iranians want a different government and will show it at the ballot box when given a chance.

“I think the Iranian people would love to see a different government. Whenever they've had a chance to vote, they've tended to vote for more progressive candidates within their system, which is not that progressive. But again, I don't think President Trump got elected on the basis that he was going to stop American foreign interventions; he seems to be doing the opposite.”

Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi told The Wall Street Journal there is no need for a US military intervention to put an end to Iran's theocracy, as the ongoing protests in the country mark a “golden opportunity” for a regime change.

“I don’t think it’s a matter of any kind of outside intervention, either a military or a special ops kind, because I think the regime is collapsing. The regime is at its weakest. Iranians are on the streets protesting not just the economic misery but calling for an end to this regime."​

“What’s clearly different is that there’s an opportunity this time to get the job done and get rid of this regime. I think, in a way, the planets are aligned. The conditions are right on many levels for the regime to collapse,” he added.​

Asked about the role he might see for himself in any future executive branch, he said his purpose is to help heal the country.

“I think my role is much deeper and more valuable than to be cornered into one specific executive role. You know, it will take some time for the nation—really hurt, depressed, demoralized, cheated, lied to—to come back to normalcy,” Pahlavi said.