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New numbers released by a human rights group have put the death toll from Iran’s recent anti-government protests to over 4,500.

Some shit you should know before you dig in: Roughly two weeks ago, Iranians began taking to the streets in protest over the country’s worsening economic conditions, sparked by the collapsing value of the national currency and soaring costs of living. What began as demonstrations led by shopkeepers and workers quickly escalated into a nationwide anti-government movement. In response, Iranian authorities labeled the unrest a foreign-instigated plot, accusing the United States and Israel of orchestrating the violence to destabilize the country. Despite the regime’s claims and efforts to suppress information through internet blackouts, the protests rapidly spread across multiple cities before appearing to die down in recent days.

What’s going on now: In a notable development, the Human Rights Group Activist News Agency (HRANA) has confirmed that at least 4,560 people have been killed since the protests erupted. Of those, 4,251 were identified as protesters, along with 197 security personnel, 35 minors under the age of 18, and 38 bystanders uninvolved in the unrest. HRANA also revealed that an additional 9,049 deaths remain under review, meaning the real toll could be significantly higher.

The group, which has built a reputation for reliable reporting through a network of activists inside Iran, emphasized that each reported fatality has been verified through direct confirmation.

These numbers differ significantly from those released by Iranian state television, which claims that 3,117 people were killed in the demonstrations. Of those, 2,427 were described as either civilians or members of the security forces, though officials did not provide a breakdown of who was killed or the circumstances of their deaths. Notably, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei acknowledged for the first time that “several thousand” had died, a vague figure that still falls short of independent estimates.

Iranian officials have attempted to justify the death toll by blaming “rioters” and foreign influence, while Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that many of those killed were police officers or civilians caught in the crossfire, despite extensive video evidence showing security forces firing on unarmed protesters.

This comes as more than 26,000 people have been arrested, with fears mounting over possible executions.