The ongoing demonstrations have resulted in significant loss of life.

The Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), based in the United States, has reported a total of 646 deaths linked to the protests. This grim tally includes 505 demonstrators, nine children, 133 members of the military and law enforcement, one prosecutor, and seven non-protesting civilian citizens.

“The regime has resorted to its typical response, which is marked by bloodshed,” one observer noted.

HRANA also indicates that the circumstances surrounding an additional 579 deaths are still under investigation. Meanwhile, Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based NGO, suggests that the actual death toll could be closer to 6,000. However, they caution that verifying these numbers independently remains “extremely difficult.”

HRANA reports an additional 579 deaths remain under review, while Norway-based NGO Iran Human Rights warns that some estimates place the death toll at closer to 6,000, but with the caveat that it’s “extremely difficult to independently verify these reports”.

“We are really concerned that they’re consistent with what we have seen in the past with these brutal crackdowns.”

“We didn’t have any weapons. There was no violence. But they quickly took out their weapons and shot us.”

‘We’re not just stories’

“We’re not just stories on social media. We are real human beings with hopes and dreams,” she said.

“I am very worried. To be honest, I’m burying my emotions,” Nazanin said. Credit: SBS

Thousands of kilometres away, the Australian government has urged the Iranian regime to stop the bloodshed, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying the government stands “with the people of Iran in fighting against what is an oppressive regime, one that has oppressed its people”.