An Iranian student was fatally shot and buried beside a road after participating in anti-regime protests in Tehran. Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old student, joined the demonstrations following her textiles class at Shariati College. Tragically, she never made it home after the protests on Thursday, with her body discovered buried near a deserted road over the weekend.
Iran Human Rights confirmed that she was shot at close range in the back of the head. When her parents traveled from Kermanshah to Tehran to identify her body, they witnessed numerous other young individuals who had been killed in a similar manner.
The death toll from the recent nationwide protests in Iran has risen to at least 538, with over 10,600 individuals detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Among the casualties, 490 are protesters and 48 are security forces members, with concerns that the toll could increase further.
The Iranian government has not disclosed overall casualty figures for the protests, while President Donald Trump’s warnings to the regime have not been acted upon. Iran’s parliament speaker issued a warning that the U.S. military and Israel would be considered “legitimate targets” if the U.S. were to strike the Islamic Republic over the ongoing unrest.
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, in response to the protests challenging Iran’s theocracy, stated that both the U.S. and Israel would be targets if the U.S. were to attack Iran. The demonstrations have continued for over two weeks, resulting in at least 203 deaths, with fears that the actual death toll might be higher.
Concerns are mounting among those outside Iran that the blackout on information is empowering hard-liners within the country to escalate the crackdown on protesters. Trump has expressed support for the demonstrators, indicating a readiness to assist Iran in achieving freedom. Reports suggest that military options for a strike on Iran have been presented to Trump, although a final decision has not been made.
