Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities have said 3,117 people were killed in protests

Giving their first official toll from the protests, Iranian authorities have said 3,117 people were killed in protests

A US-based rights group said Tuesday it had confirmed the deaths of over 6,000 people in protests in Iran suppressed by security forces, adding it was investigating over 17,000 more potential deaths and warning a wave of arrests was ongoing.

The protests started in late December sparked by economic grievances but turned into a mass movement against the Islamic republic, with huge street rallies on January 8 and 9 that were the biggest in recent years.

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