Iran death toll jumps again as Donald Trump cancels meetings with officials

A frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire (AP)

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran has surpassed 2,500 as US President Donald Trump said he has cancelled talks with Iranian officials amid a protest crackdown

The number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early on Wednesday, as reported by the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.

That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.

The activist group said 2,403 of the dead were protesters and 147 were government-affiliated. Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.

Gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult, and the AP has been unable to independently assess the toll.

Iranian state TV offered the first official acknowledgement of the deaths, quoting an official saying the country had “a lot of martyrs”.

The demonstrations began in late December in anger over Iran’s ailing economy and soon targeted the theocracy, particularly 86-year-old supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Images obtained on Tuesday by The Associated Press from demonstrations in Tehran showed graffiti and chants calling for Mr Khamenei’s death — something that could carry a death sentence.

As the reported toll grew on Tuesday, Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform: “Iranian Patriots, KEEP PROTESTING – TAKE OVER YOUR INSTITUTIONS!!!”

He added: “I have canceled all meetings with Iranian Officials until the senseless killing of protesters STOPS. HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”

A burning image of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is seen during rally in Switzerland in support of the protests in Iran (Michael Buholzer/AP)

However, hours later, Mr Trump told reporters that his administration was awaiting an accurate report on the number of protesters that had been killed before acting “accordingly”.

Mr Trump said of the Iranian security forces: “It would seem to me that they have been badly misbehaving, but that is not confirmed.”

Iranian officials once again warned Mr Trump against taking action, with Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, responding to US posturing by writing: “We declare the names of the main killers of the people of Iran: 1- Trump 2- (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu.”

Skylar Thompson with the Human Rights Activists News Agency told AP the new toll was shocking, particularly since it reached four times the death toll of the months-long 2022 Mahsa Amini protests in just two weeks.

She warned that the toll would still rise: “We’re horrified, but we still think the number is conservative.”