Verified death toll in Iran protests reaches at least 5,000

Tehran, 18/1:An Iranian official ​in the region said on Sunday the authorities had verified at least 5,000 people had been killed ​in protests in Iran, including about 500 security ‌personnel, blaming “terrorists and armed rioters” ⁠for killing “innocent Iranian”

The official, ‌who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, also told Reuters some of the heaviest clashes and highest number of ​deaths were in the Iranian Kurdish areas in northwest Iran.