Iran officials say protests are ‘over now’ after 4,000 killed

The Iranian government announced Wednesday that weeks of anti-government protests have come to an end after 25 days.

Mohammad Movahedi, Iran’s prosecutor general, announced that the “sedition is over now,” signaling the end of a movement that challenged the clerical regime’s authority for nearly a month.

Iranian state television released its first death toll on Wednesday, reporting that 3,117 people were killed, adding that many were “civilians and security forces.”  

However, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported 4,902 fatalities and approximately 26,000 arrests. 

Other reports, including data from Iranian doctors, suggest the actual death toll could range between 12,000 and 20,000.

The crackdown was accompanied by a nationwide internet blackout that began on Jan. 8, which authorities used to restrict the flow of information