Iran State TV Suggests at Least 26 Dead from Protests

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike.  (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
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Iran State TV Suggests at Least 26 Dead from Protests

FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike.  (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
FILE - In this Nov. 25, 2019, file photo, an Iranian soldier stands guard overlooking a pro-government rally organized by authorities in Tehran, Iran, denouncing violent protests over a government-imposed fuel price hike. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)

Iranian state television suggested that the death toll of protests over the death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody has risen to over two dozen, without providing more information as the unrest continues.

An anchor on Iran’s state television suggested the death toll from the mass protests could be as high as 26 on Thursday, but did not elaborate or say how he reached that figure.

“Unfortunately, 26 people and police officers present at the scene of these events lost their lives,” the anchor said, adding official statistics would be released later.

Clashes between Iranian security forces and protesters have killed at least 11 people since the violence erupted over the weekend, according to a tally Thursday by The Associated Press.

The demonstrations in Iran began as an emotional outpouring over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman held by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating its strictly enforced dress code.

The police say she died of a heart attack and was not mistreated, but her family has cast doubt on that account.

Iran’s state-run media this week reported demonstrations of hundreds of people in at least 13 cities, including the capital, Tehran.

Iranian authorities imposed some restrictions on the internet and blocked access to WhatsApp and Instagram.

People in Tehran and some other cities planned to hold a counter-protest rally after the Friday prayer.



US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
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US House Speaker Johnson Will Travel to Israel on June 22 

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., during a news conference at the RNC near the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP)

US House Speaker Mike Johnson will travel to Israel to address the parliament on June 22, he said on Wednesday.

"Our ties run deeper than military partnerships and trade agreements," Johnson said in an emailed statement.

Punchbowl News, which first reported Johnson's plan, said the House Speaker was expected to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem during the trip.

Johnson did not provide further details on the planned trip.

Johnson announced the visit as Israel presses on with its military campaign in the Gaza Strip, more than 20 months after it launched its offensive there in response to a deadly incursion into Israel led by the Palestinian group Hamas.

On Tuesday, Australia, Britain, Canada, New Zealand and Norway imposed sanctions on far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of repeatedly inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank.

Israel called the action "outrageous" and said the Israeli government would hold a meeting early next week to decide how to respond.