Iranian authorities continue to block access to the Internet as part of their brutal crackdown on anti-government protests, one of the biggest challenges to clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, amid warnings from US President Donald Trump that the United States may intervene.
The independent US-based rights monitor HRANA said that according to its confirmed and verified data on January 13 the death toll in the protests had risen to 2,403 protesters, with more than 18,000 others detained.
Some groups say the death toll figure is likely several times higher, and Trump has warned Tehran that it faces "very strong action" while pledging to protesters that "help is on the way."
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"Metrics show Iran remains offline as the country wakes to another day of digital darkness," Internet watchdog NetBlocks said in a post on January 14.
"With the Internet blackout now past its 132nd hour, early reports indicate thousands of casualties. The true extent of the killings is masked by the absence of connectivity," it added.
The uprising in Iran was sparked in late December by spiraling inflation and a free fall of the currency but has since turned into a broader anti-government protest.
Rights groups have reported that one detained protester, 26-year-old Erfan Soltani, would be executed on January 14, six days after his arrest on charges of "waging war against God" over his role in the protests.
If authorities were to carry out the execution, it would be the first of a participant of the current wave of protests.
"If they hang them, you're going to see some things," Trump said in an interview with CBS News broadcast late on January 13.
Iranian officials haven't commented on the reports, which were sourced to family members of Soltani.
SEE ALSO: Live Blog: US Rights Group Says More Than 2,400 Protesters Killed In Iran UnrestTrump has not elaborated on what actions the United States may take against Iran and when, but Reuters quoted three diplomats on January 14 as saying some personnel had been advised to leave the main US air base in the region after Tehran warned neighboring countries hosting US troops that it would retaliate against American bases if Washington carries out its threats.
The sources noted there were no immediate signs of the large-scale evacuation of troops that took place in the hours before an Iranian missile attack last year.
Iran's Islamic leadership has weathered previous protests, but the latest unrest comes as Tehran is still recovering from last year's war with Israel -- when the United States joined in a set of air strikes aimed at Iran's nuclear facilities -- and its regional position is weakened by blows to regional allies.
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Trump is thought to be mulling options including limited military strikes, a more concerted campaign of strikes against the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), or nonmilitary moves such as a full economic blockade or cyberattacks to disrupt the communication and decision-making systems of Iranian security agencies.
A journalist inside Iran who managed to send a report to RFE/RL's Radio Farda on January 13 said a taxi driver they talked to spoke of security forces attacking medical centers, kidnapping wounded protesters, and killing those who could not be transported.
His claims could not be independently verified by RFE/RL, but they do match up with human rights sources and other reports from inside the country about the severity of the crackdown on the protests and the "mass killing" of protesters.
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