ALEX BLOG

The attack follows a string of assaults on Jewish people and their religious establishments in the country, as community leaders warn of a rise in antisemitism.

In December, two gunmenopened fireon families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, in the country's worst mass shooing in almost 30 years.

On Friday evening, a black pickup truckcrashed intothe Brisbane Synagogue, knocking down its gates, before being driven away, Queensland Police said.

A 32-year-old man was later taken into custody after investigators located the vehicle, they added.

Police said no one was injured.

The man is due to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court Saturday, to face a raft of charges including wilful damage, serious vilification or hate crime, dangerous driving and possession of a dangerous drug.

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Several anti-Jewish incidents have been recorded across major Australian cities in recent years, linked in part to anger over Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since it was sparked by the deadly Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.

Israel's government has repeatedly criticized its counterpart in Australia for failing to address antisemitic attacks in the country.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit earlier this month following the Bondi attacksparked protestsat major Australian cities, including clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators with the police outside Sydney Town Hall.

After Friday's Brisbane attack, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli described the incident as "very concerning."

"This will be very distressing for the Jewish community in Queensland," he wrote in a social media post, adding that he has already spoken with Jewish leaders and police.

"I want to assure Queenslanders we are taking this seriously," the premier said.

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The US assessment of China's intention to radically advance its nuclear weapons is fueling debate inside the intelligence community and beyond over whether there has been a shift in Beijing's thinking on nuclear strategy, the sources said. The investment in its nuclear arsenal is pushing China closer to peer status with Russia and the US and could yield technical capabilities neither of the two dominant nuclear powers currently possess.

China secretly conducted an explosive nuclear test in June 2020 at the Lop Nur facility, in the country's northwest – despite a self-imposed moratorium on such activity that has been in place since 1996 – and was planning to do more in the future, according to the sources and recent statements from US officials. While the 2020 test was disclosed publicly by US State Department officials this month, the purpose of the test has not been previously revealed.

Evidence collected as part of a subsequent review of the June 2020 event, has led US officials to conclude the test was motivated by China's pursuit of next-generation nuclear weapons, the sources familiar said. That includes efforts to develop additional weapons systems capable of delivering multiple, miniaturized nuclear warheads from a single missile.

China also appears to be developing low-yield, tactical nuclear weapons – something the country has never previously produced – that could be deployed against targets closer to home, including in scenarios where Beijing responds to a potential US defense of Taiwan, the sources added.

China has been aggressively expanding its nuclear sites, US intelligence officials have previously reported publicly, with analysts suspecting that China might be pursuing new technologies. Now US officials believe there is strong evidence to support that theory – in part – because of what it has learned about the 2020 test.

China has had a nuclear arsenal since 1964. It has produced warheads faster than any country in the world, although the size of its arsenal trails far behind Russia and the US, which continue to own the lion's share of the world's nuclear weapons.

Asked about the US intelligence assessments of its nuclear program, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington told CNN that "the United States has distorted and smeared China's nuclear policy."

"This is political manipulation aimed at pursuing nuclear hegemony and evading its own nuclear disarmament responsibilities," Liu Pengyu said. "China firmly opposes such narratives. US allegation about China conducting a nuclear test are entirely unfounded. China opposes any attempt by the United States to fabricate excuses for resuming its own nuclear testing."

A defense official said that the Pentagon "does not comment on intelligence assessments tied to specific alleged nuclear test events."

The Pentagonhas previously suggestedthat China's efforts to expand and improve its nuclear arsenal could "provide [China] with new options before and during a crisis or conflict to leverage nuclear weapons for coercive purposes, including military provocations against US Allies and partners in the region."

A 2024 report from the Defense Intelligence Agency also noted that China is seeking to revamp its nuclear arsenal with the US in mind.

"China is undergoing the most rapid expansion and ambitious modernization of its nuclear forces in history—almost certainly driven by an aim for enduring strategic competition with the U.S. and a goal to actualize intensified strategic concepts that have existed for decades but are now being realized," it states.

Historically, China has viewed its nuclear capabilities as a means of self-defense and deterring other countries from using or threatening to use their own nuclear weapons against it. China has had a no-first-use policy in place for decades, but the country's 2023 proposal on global governance does not reference that commitment which has invited speculation that China's posture could be changing.

And until recently, China's nuclear capability was considered far less advanced than its nuclear rivals. It has conducted far fewer tests from which it could collect data needed to design modernized weapons.

"China's nuclear weaponeers may lack confidence in the limited nuclear weapons data they collected during only 45 tests, most of which were conducted in the atmosphere and poorly instrumented," according to Jeffrey Lewis, an arms control expert at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies.

That, US officials believe, is one of the primary reasons why China would resume explosive testing.

"They have a brand new generation of weapons for which they have no database," said one of the sources familiar with the matter.

As part of that modernization push, China has been investing heavily in maneuverability and survivability, multiple sources told CNN, noting Beijing has long feared the US could potentially wipe out its entire force before it can shoot back – or at least inflict enough damage to effectively neuter it.

US officials also believe China has had concerns over the reliability of its own systems, which contributes to the urgency surrounding its modernization efforts and fueled investment in technologies to ensure its nuclear warheads can hit their intended target.

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Two sources noted that China appeared increasingly paranoid about a potential US attack during the same timeframe as that June 2020 nuclear test. In the lead-up to the 2020 US presidential election in November of the same year, Chinese officials even reached out to then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Mark Milley because they were concerned about an "October surprise," the sources said.

While those tensions ultimately subsided, China has taken steps in the years since to not only update its nuclear forces but also sought to modernize its entire military.

China's nuclear ambitions have reemerged as a topic of intrigue in recent weeks after State Department officials revealed new details about, what they allege, was an explosive test carried out at the Lop Nur facility in June 2020 – disclosing the exact date, location and related seismic data about the event to support their conclusion. The connection to China also using the test to modernize its arsenal became clear in the follow-on study of the test, particularly given the seismic magnitude, a former senior official told CNN.

Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Yeaw told an event at the Hudson Institute think tank in Washington this week the June 2020 event measured an "explosion" of magnitude 2.75.

"I've looked at additional data since then. There is very little possibility I would say that it is anything but an explosion, a singular explosion," said Yeaw, adding that the data was not consistent with mining blasts.

"It's also entirely not consistent with an earthquake," said Yeaw, a former intelligence analyst and defense official who holds a doctorate in nuclear engineering. "It is … what you would expect with a nuclear explosive test."

Earlier this month, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control Thomas DiNanno also publicly accused China of having secretly carried out an explosive nuclear test in 2020 and suggested the US had obtained intelligence indicating Beijing planned to carry out more.

"I can reveal that the U.S. Government is aware that China has conducted nuclear explosive tests, including preparing for tests with designated yields in the hundreds of tons. The PLA (People's Liberation Army) sought to conceal testing by obfuscating the nuclear explosions because it recognized these tests violate test ban commitments,"DiNanno saidduring a February 6 speech.

CNN has since learned that additional intelligence collected by the US after the June 2020 event served as a key piece of the puzzle as experts have argued that the seismic data is not, on it's own, enough to definitively conclude it was a nuclear test or understand why it was carried out.

Whenasked about the allegationof secret nuclear testing earlier this month, Liu, the spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, DC, said China "follows a policy of 'no first use' of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy that focuses on self-defense, and adheres to its nuclear testing moratorium."

"We stand ready to work with all parties to jointly uphold the authority of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty and safeguard the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime," he said.

"It's hoped that the US will earnestly abide by its obligations under the Treaty and its commitment to a moratorium on nucleartesting and take concrete actions to uphold the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, as well as global strategic balance and stability," he told CNN.

The timing of the Trump administration's decision to reveal details about an alleged test that took place nearly six years ago is also notable as it comes as the US is insisting China join any new nuclear arms agreement, overtures Chinese leader Xi Jinping has so far resisted, sources said.

Trump has suggested the US could resume explosive testing of its own.

Ultimately, China has more to gain from conducting explosive tests than the US, raising questions about why the State Department took the rare step of disclosing specifics about the event from June 2020 at this point, multiple sources said.

That move suggests the Trump administration is concerned about public diplomacy with Beijing – particularly ahead of the president's upcoming trip to the country in April, one source familiar with discussions between the two countries noted.

But current US officials also noted that the Trump administration is determined to draw China into a nuclear deal, suggesting that the revelation of a slice of what the US knows about their current efforts could pressure them into discussions.

"The old arms control paradigm is collapsing as China races to grow its nuclear arsenal," said Alex Gray, former NSC chief of staff and now senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. "The Administration is grappling with not just Russian strategic weapons but a much more concerning Chinese nuclear expansion. Unless we can negotiate an arms control framework that encompasses Beijing, the US doesn't need to mindlessly adhere to outdated arms control nostrums that don't capture the threats of today and tomorrow."

The rapid growth and modernization of the PLA also serves as a fulfilment of Xi's more than decade-old promise to transform the world's largest armed forces into a world-class military.

"This is a reflection of China's sweeping global ambitions … this is one of the clearest signals of that of almost anything that China is doing," one of the sources added, noting Beijing's actions must inform how the US prepares for future conflicts.

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Reports vary widely. Officials in Tehran have reported over 3,000 deaths, including government troops killed by protesters.President Donald Trumpon Feb. 20 shared an estimate of over 32,000.

Uncovering the true number of deaths, experts say, will be difficult given the supreme leader's stranglehold on information in Iran. But the figure is likely many times higher than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admits, the experts say.

"I would put the minimum estimates to be 5,000 plus," Mai Soto, the United Nations' special rapporteur on Iran, said in aninterviewwith ABC Australia. Soto noted 5,000 dead is a "conservative" or "the minimum" estimate. Other credible estimates, she said, indicate as many as 20,000.

Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue."

See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

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See Iran's anti-government protests, huge crowds, unrest in photos

Anti-government protests in Iranappeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as PresidentDonald Trumpwarned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, sayingWashington "will come to their rescue."See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

Protests began at theend of Decemberover inflation and turned into demonstrations against the nation's repressive government. Islamic Revolutionary Guard troops, state police and other government agents responded fiercely on Jan. 8 and 9, firing at close range using guns loaded with metal pellets on protesters and since then the government has threatened capital punishment for people involved.

Questions around the exact death toll come as Trump signals he'sready to strikeIran militarily if the regime continues its repression of protesters. Trump in June he ordered U.S. forces to bombthree of Iran's major nuclear complexesin an effort to eliminate Iran's nuclear program.

"It's certainly been on a massive scale," Elise Auerbach, an Iran specialist at Amnesty International, told USA TODAY of the death toll. "The government obviously does not want the world to know the magnitude of repression, they want to control the narrative."

'They've lived in hell,' Trump says of protesters

President Trumpon Feb. 20 shared some of the greatest estimates of the number of people killed by the Iranian regime.

"It's a very, very sad situation. But 32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time," said Trump during a press briefing at the White House on Friday. "I feel very badly for the people of Iran. They've lived in hell."

Trump did not elaborate on the source of the 32,000 people killed. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.

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How many does Iran say have been killed?

The ayatollah's regime has said over 3,000 people were killed, according to a statement from the government's Martyrs Foundation shared on Iranian state media.

According to the Iranian government statement reported on byAl-Jazeera, 3,117 people were killed during the crackdown. The figure includes government security forces allegedly killed by protesters.

Experts say the ayatollah's official numbers are not reliable.

"They did not want the world to know," Auerbach said, noting an internet blackout the Iranian government imposed amid its crackdown. "But there were pictures one hospital after another with piles and piles of body bags."

Thousands of deaths under investigation

Other sources have concluded that the number of people killed by the Iranian regime likely exceeds the country's official figure and could be as much as several times greater.

"There has been so many casualties," Soto said. "I have seen so many videos of security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians."

The U.N. official again noted the difficulty of ascertaining a clear picture of what's happening on the ground in the country. She said estimates were based on reports by medical staff in Iran who managed to use Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink to bypass the internet blackout.

According to theHuman Rights Activists News Agency(HRANA), a group that focuses on reporting repressions in Iran, over 6,000 have been confirmed dead and over 17,000 deaths are under investigation.

Among the 6,126 HRANA confirmed deaths are 5,777 protesters, 86 minors, 214 government agents and 49 non-protester civilians.

Contributing by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How many protesters have been killed in Iran?

APTOPIX Supreme Court Tariffs Trump

The Trump administration says its tariffs help boost American manufacturers and reduce the trade gap. But many U.S. businesses have had toraise pricesand adjust in other ways to offsethigher costs spurred by the tariffs.

It remains to be seen how much relief businesses and consumers will actually get from Friday's ruling. Within hours of the court's decision, Trump pledged to use a different law to impose a 10% tariff on all imports that would last 150 days, and to explore other ways to impose additional tariffs on countries he says engage in unfair trade practices.

"Any boost to the economy from lowering tariffs in the near-term is likely to be partly offset by a prolonged period of uncertainty," said Michael Pearce, an economist at Oxford Economics. "With the administration likely to rebuild tariffs through other, more durable, means, the overall tariffs rate may yet end up settling close to current levels."

Efforts to claw back the estimated $133 billion to $175 billion of previously collected tariffs now deemed illegal are bound to be complicated, and will likely favor larger companies with more resources.Consumers hoping for a refundare unlikely to be compensated.

The fight against tariffs continues

With Trump's unyielding position on tariffs, many business are braced for years of court battles.

Basic Fun, a Florida-based maker of toys such as Lincoln Logs and Tonka trucks, last week joined a slew of other businesses in a lawsuit seeking to claw back tariffs paid to the government.

While company CEO Jay Foreman is concerned about any new tariffs Trump may impose, he doesn't think they will affect toys. Still, he said, "I do worry about some type of perpetual fight over this, at least for the next three years."

The new 10% tariff Trump announced Friday immediately raised questions for Daniel Posner, the owner of Grapes The Wine Co., in White Plains, New York. Since wine shipments take about two weeks to cross the Atlantic, he wonders if a shipment arriving Monday will be affected.

"We're reactive to what's become a very unstable situation," Posner said.

Ron Kurnik owns Superior Coffee Roasting Co. in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, across the border from Canada. In addition to U.S. tariffs, Kurnik faced retaliatory tariffs from Canada for much of last year when he exported his coffee.

"It's like a nightmare we just want to wake up from," said Kurnik, whose company has raised prices by 6% twice since the tariffs went into effect. While he's pleased with the Supreme Court's ruling, he doesn't think he will ever see a refund.

Industries pine for more stability

A wide array of industries, including retail, tech and the agricultural sector, used the Supreme Court ruling as an opportunity to remind Trump of how his trade policies have affected their businesses.

The Business Roundtable, a group that lobbies on behalf of more than 200 U.S. companies, released a statement encouraging the administration to limit the focus of tariffs going forward to specific unfair trade practices and national security concerns.

In the retail industry, stores of all stripes have embraced different ways to offset the effects of tariffs — from absorbing some of the costs themselves, to cutting expenses and diversifying their supply network. Still, they have had to pass on some price increases at a time when shoppers have been particularly sensitive to inflationary pressures.

Dave French, executive vice president of government relations for The National Retail Federation, the nation's largest retail industry trade group, said he hoped lower courts would ensure "a seamless process" to refund tariffs. That issue wasn't addressed in Friday's ruling.

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For the technology sector, Trump's tariffs caused major headaches. Many of its products are either built overseas or depend on imports of key components. The Computer & Communications Industry Association, which represents a spectrum of technology companies employing more than 1.6 million people, expressed hope that the decision will ease the trade tensions.

"With this decision behind us, we look forward to bringing more stability to trade policy," said Jonathan McHale, the association's vice president for digital trade.

Farmers, who have been stung by higher prices for equipment and fertilizer since the tariffs went into effect, and reduced demand for their exports, also spoke out.

"We strongly encourage the president to avoid using any other available authorities to impose tariffs on agricultural inputs that would further increase costs," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall.

Industries that aren't feeling any relief

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not give the president authority to tax imports, a power that belongs to Congress. But the decision only affects tariffs imposed under that law, so some industries will see no relief at all.

The decision leaves in effect tariffs on steel, upholstered furniture, kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities, according to the Home Furnishings Association, which represents 15,000 furniture stores in North America.

At Revolution Brewing in Chicago, the aluminum they use for cans costs as much as the ingredients that go inside them because of tariffs Trump has placed on metals that are not affected by the Supreme Court ruling. While the cans are made in Chicago, the aluminum comes from Canada, said Josh Deth, managing partner at the brewery.

Tariffs have been just one challenge for his business, which is also affected by volatile barley prices and a slowdown in demand for craft beer.

"Everything kind of adds up," he said. "The beverage industry needs relief here. We're getting crushed by the prices of aluminum."

Reaction overseas

Italian winemakers hard-hit by the tariffs greeted the Supreme Court decision with skepticism, warning that the decision may just deepen uncertainty around trade with the U.S.

The U.S. is Italy's largest wine market, with sales having tripled in value over the past 20 years. New tariffs on the EU, which the Trump administration initially threatened would be 200%, had sent fear throughout the industry, which remained even after the U.S. reduced, delayed and negotiated down.

"There is a more than likely risk that tariffs will be reimposed through alternative legal channels, compounded by the uncertainty this ruling may generate in commercial relations between Europe and the United States," said Lamberto Frescobaldi, president of UIV, a trade association that represents more than 800 winemakers.

Elsewhere in Europe, initial reaction focused on renewed upheaval and confusion regarding costs facing businesses exporting to the US.

Trump's tariffs could hit pharmaceuticals, chemicals and auto parts, said Carsten Brzeski, an economist at ING bank. "Europe should not be mistaken, this ruling will not bring relief," he said. "The legal authority may be different, but the economic impact could be identical or worse."

Anne D'Innocenzio in New York; Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit; Michael Liedtke in San Francisco; David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany; Jonathan Matisse in Nashville, Tennessee; Adrian Sainz in Memphis, Tennessee; and Nicole Winfield in Rome contributed to this report.

The attack follows a string of assaults on Jewish people and their religious establishments in the country, as community leaders warn of a rise in antisemitism.

In December, two gunmenopened fireon families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Sydney's famed Bondi Beach, killing 15 people, in the country's worst mass shooing in almost 30 years.

On Friday evening, a black pickup truckcrashed intothe Brisbane Synagogue, knocking down its gates, before being driven away, Queensland Police said.

A 32-year-old man was later taken into custody after investigators located the vehicle, they added.

Police said no one was injured.

The man is due to appear before Brisbane Magistrates Court Saturday, to face a raft of charges including wilful damage, serious vilification or hate crime, dangerous driving and possession of a dangerous drug.

Advertisement

Several anti-Jewish incidents have been recorded across major Australian cities in recent years, linked in part to anger over Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians since it was sparked by the deadly Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023.

Israel's government has repeatedly criticized its counterpart in Australia for failing to address antisemitic attacks in the country.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit earlier this month following the Bondi attacksparked protestsat major Australian cities, including clashes between pro-Palestinian demonstrators with the police outside Sydney Town Hall.

After Friday's Brisbane attack, Queensland Premier David Crisafulli described the incident as "very concerning."

"This will be very distressing for the Jewish community in Queensland," he wrote in a social media post, adding that he has already spoken with Jewish leaders and police.

"I want to assure Queenslanders we are taking this seriously," the premier said.

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account atCNN.com

Reports vary widely. Officials in Tehran have reported over 3,000 deaths, including government troops killed by protesters.President Donald Trumpon Feb. 20 shared an estimate of over 32,000.

Uncovering the true number of deaths, experts say, will be difficult given the supreme leader's stranglehold on information in Iran. But the figure is likely many times higher than Ayatollah Ali Khamenei admits, the experts say.

"I would put the minimum estimates to be 5,000 plus," Mai Soto, the United Nations' special rapporteur on Iran, said in aninterviewwith ABC Australia. Soto noted 5,000 dead is a "conservative" or "the minimum" estimate. Other credible estimates, she said, indicate as many as 20,000.

Anti-government protests in Iran appeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as President Donald Trump warned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, saying Washington "will come to their rescue."

See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

See Iran's anti-government protests, huge crowds, unrest in photos

Anti-government protests in Iranappeared to accelerate on Jan. 9, sparked by anger over the collapse of the country's currency and a broader sense of hopelessness and disillusionment with Tehran's clerical leaders.

The uptick in unrest also comes as PresidentDonald Trumpwarned Iran's authorities against killing peaceful protesters, sayingWashington "will come to their rescue."See the scenes in Iran, beginning here on the streets amid anti-government unrest in Tehran, Iran, in this still image obtained from social media video released on January 8, 2026. Witnesses told Reuters protesters gathered in the streets on Thursday, January 8, however this video's date taken has not been verified.

Protests began at theend of Decemberover inflation and turned into demonstrations against the nation's repressive government. Islamic Revolutionary Guard troops, state police and other government agents responded fiercely on Jan. 8 and 9, firing at close range using guns loaded with metal pellets on protesters and since then the government has threatened capital punishment for people involved.

Questions around the exact death toll come as Trump signals he'sready to strikeIran militarily if the regime continues its repression of protesters. Trump in June he ordered U.S. forces to bombthree of Iran's major nuclear complexesin an effort to eliminate Iran's nuclear program.

"It's certainly been on a massive scale," Elise Auerbach, an Iran specialist at Amnesty International, told USA TODAY of the death toll. "The government obviously does not want the world to know the magnitude of repression, they want to control the narrative."

'They've lived in hell,' Trump says of protesters

President Trumpon Feb. 20 shared some of the greatest estimates of the number of people killed by the Iranian regime.

"It's a very, very sad situation. But 32,000 people were killed over a relatively short period of time," said Trump during a press briefing at the White House on Friday. "I feel very badly for the people of Iran. They've lived in hell."

Trump did not elaborate on the source of the 32,000 people killed. USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.

Advertisement

How many does Iran say have been killed?

The ayatollah's regime has said over 3,000 people were killed, according to a statement from the government's Martyrs Foundation shared on Iranian state media.

According to the Iranian government statement reported on byAl-Jazeera, 3,117 people were killed during the crackdown. The figure includes government security forces allegedly killed by protesters.

Experts say the ayatollah's official numbers are not reliable.

"They did not want the world to know," Auerbach said, noting an internet blackout the Iranian government imposed amid its crackdown. "But there were pictures one hospital after another with piles and piles of body bags."

Thousands of deaths under investigation

Other sources have concluded that the number of people killed by the Iranian regime likely exceeds the country's official figure and could be as much as several times greater.

"There has been so many casualties," Soto said. "I have seen so many videos of security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians."

The U.N. official again noted the difficulty of ascertaining a clear picture of what's happening on the ground in the country. She said estimates were based on reports by medical staff in Iran who managed to use Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink to bypass the internet blackout.

According to theHuman Rights Activists News Agency(HRANA), a group that focuses on reporting repressions in Iran, over 6,000 have been confirmed dead and over 17,000 deaths are under investigation.

Among the 6,126 HRANA confirmed deaths are 5,777 protesters, 86 minors, 214 government agents and 49 non-protester civilians.

Contributing by Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:How many protesters have been killed in Iran?