An Iranian student, Rubina Aminian, aged 23, was fatally shot in the back of her head and then buried beside a road following her participation in protests against the Iranian regime in Tehran. The incident occurred after she attended her textiles class at Shariati College.
After the protests, Rubina never returned home, and her body was discovered buried next to an abandoned road over the weekend. Iran Human Rights reported that she was shot at close range in the back of her head. When her parents traveled from Kermanshah to Tehran to identify her body, they observed several other young individuals who had been killed in a similar manner.
Activists revealed that the death toll from the crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran has risen to at least 538 people, with over 10,600 individuals detained. Of the deceased, 490 were protesters while 48 were members of the security forces, with concerns that the toll could increase further. The lack of internet access and disrupted phone lines in Iran has made it challenging to monitor the demonstrations from abroad.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which verifies information through activists in Iran, has provided accurate figures in past instances of unrest in the country. The Iranian government has not disclosed the total number of casualties resulting from the protests, and President Donald Trump’s warnings against the regime have not been enacted.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, issued a warning that the U.S. military and Israel would be considered “legitimate targets” if the U.S. strikes Iran in response to the ongoing protests. The protests have persisted for over two weeks, with activists reporting at least 203 fatalities and expressing concerns that the actual death toll could be much higher.
With communication restrictions in place in Iran, monitoring the protests from outside the country has become increasingly challenging. There are fears that the lack of information may empower hard-liners within Iran’s security forces to carry out severe crackdowns. President Trump has shown support for the protesters, indicating that the U.S. is prepared to assist Iran in achieving freedom. Reports suggest that military options for a potential strike on Iran have been presented to Trump, but a final decision has not been made.