The number of victims who died in the protests in Iran increased to 2,500 people

The funeral of a victim of the protests in Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Tasnim News Agency/Farza Menati)

JAKARTA - The death toll in protests in Iran has reached 2,500 according to human rights groups, as local authorities held a mass funeral for security forces in Tehran on Wednesday.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) confirmed the deaths of 2,403 demonstrators, including 12 children, in its latest statement, quoted by The National (15/1).

On the other hand, it is said that around 147 security personnel and government supporters were also killed, as well as nine civilians, bringing the total to 2,559.

State television reported mass funeral processions in Tehran held by the Iranian government for more than 100 people killed in the protests, including security personnel and "other martyrs".

Mourners carry a portrait of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has been the site of widespread protests in its 31 provinces, one of the biggest challenges for the ruling clerical regime in more than a decade. The unrest has evolved from complaints about Iran's poor economic situation into calls for regime change.

Authorities have accused the US and Israel of supporting and instigating violence and chaos, and threatened to respond "without mercy" to "foreign-backed rioters".

Human rights groups based outside Iran say some of the confirmed dead were shot at close range with live fire by security forces.

They accused the government of killing the protesters, while authorities blamed the deaths on "armed terrorists" backed by the US and Israel.

Iranian authorities have not provided official figures for the number of people killed. External human rights groups have compiled calculations based on reports from civilians in Iran, but this has become more difficult since Tehran imposed an almost total internet blackout on Thursday.

A political observer in Iran, who can access the internet periodically, told The National on Wednesday that the situation was "unlike anything" he had seen before.

"We are all fine (in my family), but everyone's mental health is very disturbed," he said. "It's an endless nightmare," he added.

He said protests appeared "much smaller" on Tuesday night and Wednesday than in previous days.

He also confirmed reports of drones flying over Tehran to detect Starlink satellite antennas, which some Iranians have used to evade network outages.

The observer said his understanding was that US President Donald Trump "seems to be trying to use the current opportunity to push the Iranian regime to agree to an agreement that neutralizes Iran's regional and nuclear activities."

At the same time, he said, President Trump "could have prevented this massacre but he didn't want to."

The US president has repeatedly threatened Iran's leadership over the killing of the protesters but has not taken action.

On Tuesday, he called on Iranians to continue to protest the government and take over state institutions, promising that "help is on the way."