Rights group says verified death toll in last month’s Iran protests has passed 7,000

The verified death toll from the Iranian regime’s crackdown on nationwide protests last month has passed 7,000, with many more still feared dead, activists said Thursday.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency — which offered the latest figure of 7,005 people killed, including 214 government forces — has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in the country to verify deaths.

More than a month after the mass killing of demonstrators on January 8-9, a second round of talks between the US and Iran remains up in the air, while the American military continues to build up its forces in the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pressed his case directly with US President Donald Trump on Thursday to intensify demands on Tehran in the negotiations.

Trump told reporters at the White House that Iran should come to an agreement with Washington “very quickly,” and when asked for a timeline, said: “I guess over the next month, something like that.”

Netanyahu called the meeting “excellent” but said he “did not hide” his own “general skepticism” about any deal.

As the premier returned to Israel, it was reported that the US will send the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to the region, to join the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, as well as other ships and warplanes the country has dispatched to the Middle East in recent weeks.

The move, which was first reported early Friday by The New York Times, came as US forces shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a US-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

6,000 Starlink terminals smuggled into Iran

Additionally, it was reported Thursday that Washington has smuggled around 6,000 Starlink satellite internet kits into Iran to aid protesters during a regime-imposed internet blackout.

A US official told The Wall Street Journal that senior Trump administration figures decided to use money for internet-freedom initiatives in Iran to purchase the terminals, which were mostly bought in January.

The official said it was unclear whether Trump personally ordered the delivery of the devices, but said the president was aware of it.

Owning a Starlink terminal is illegal in Iran and punishable by years in prison.

As anti-government protests swelled across Iran last month, Trump threatened to strike the Islamic Republic if it killed demonstrators. The US president also told the protesters, via social media, “HELP IS ON ITS WAY!”

So far, no operation by the US to directly help the protesters on the ground is known to have been carried out.

The White House declined to comment on the Journal’s report.

Tehran announces probe into mass protests

The Iranian government announced on Friday the establishment of a commission of inquiry related to the protests.

“A fact-finding committee has been formed with representatives from relevant institutions and is collecting documents and hearing statements,” Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the local news agency ISNA.

The spokeswoman did not specify whether the commission would only focus on the economic demands that triggered the protests or whether it would also investigate deaths during the protests.

“The final report will be published for public information and further legal action after the process is completed,” she stated.

On Thursday, a government website published comments by President Masoud Pezeskhian saying, “We have assigned teams to investigate the causes” of the unrest, without providing further details.

“We are ashamed that such unfortunate events have occurred,” Pezeshkian said.

Concern over Nobel Peace Prize laureate

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Friday it was “deeply appalled by credible reports detailing the brutal arrest, physical abuse and ongoing life‑threatening mistreatment” of 2023 Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi.

The committee that awards the prize said it had information that Mohammadi had been beaten during her arrest in December and continued to be mistreated. It called for her immediate and unconditional release.

“She continues to be denied adequate, sustained medical follow‑up while being subjected to heavy interrogation and intimidation,” the committee said. “She has fainted several times, suffers from dangerously high blood pressure, and has been prevented from accessing necessary follow‑up for suspected breast tumors.”

Iran just sentenced Mohammadi, 53, to over seven more years in prison. Supporters had warned for months before her arrest that she was at risk of being put back into prison after she received a furlough in December 2024 over medical concerns.