Almost 140 foreigners arrested in central Iran over protests

Iranian authorities arrested 139 foreign nationals in central parts of the country during recent anti-government protests, local media reported Tuesday.

Iran's Tasnim news agency quoted the police chief in the city of Yazd as saying those arrested were involved "in organising, inciting and directing riotous actions, and in some cases were in contact with networks outside the country".

The nationalities of those held were not specified.

"During the review of cases related to the recent rioters, it was determined that 139 of those arrested in these disturbances were foreign nationals," police chief Ahmad Negahban said.

Protests against the rising cost of living broke out in Iran on December 28 before morphing into nationwide anti-government demonstrations.

Tehran has acknowledged that more than 3,000 deaths occurred during the unrest, but insists that most were members of the security forces and innocent bystanders, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts".

The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based NGO, says it has confirmed 6,854 deaths, mostly protesters killed by security forces, with other rights groups warning the figure is likely far higher.

HRANA also reported that Iranian authorities have arrested over 50,000 people as part of their crackdown on protests, adding that fresh detentions were ongoing.

The rights group also stated that it had counted at least 50,235 arrests linked to the protests.

Arrests have targeted "a wide range of citizens, including students, writers and teachers", it said.

"In some cases, arrests were accompanied by home searches and the confiscation of personal belongings."

HRANA said it had counted over 300 forced confessions linked to the protests in which suspects made televised statements after being subjected to physical or psychological torture.

Amnesty International said in a statement last week that thousands of people, including children, had been arrested in the crackdown.

It said they were at "grave risk of enforced disappearance, torture and other ill-treatment, deaths in custody and prolonged imprisonment and arbitrary executions following grossly unfair trials".

Iranian authorities have said the rallies began as peaceful demonstrations before turning into "riots" involving killings and vandalism that were inflamed by arch-foes the United States and Israel.

Iran's judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei has vowed "no leniency" against offenders while the judiciary has indicated that some could be charged with crimes that carry the death penalty.

Among those arrested most recently were screenwriter Mehdi Mahmoudian, co-writer on Jafar Panahi's film "It was Just an Accident", which was nominated as best international picture at this year's Oscars and won the prestigious Palme d'Or at the 2025 Cannes festival.

Abdollah Momeni and women's rights activist Vida Rabbani were also detained in the same case after they signed a joint statement with over a dozen other activists condemning an "organised state crime against humanity" in the crackdown, according to the foundation of detained Nobel Laureate Narges Mohammadi.

Mohammadi, the 2023 Nobel peace prize laureate, was arrested at a demonstration in December before the current protest wave began and has only been allowed a single phone call with her family since.

Her foundation said prosecutors will only allow her a new phone call if she adheres to rules over what she says and she has refused these terms.