An Iranian student was fatally shot in the head and buried beside a road after participating in anti-government demonstrations in Tehran. Rubina Aminian, a 23-year-old student at Shariati College, joined the protests following her textiles class but never made it back home after the Thursday rally. Her body was discovered buried near a deserted road over the weekend, with reports indicating she was shot at close range.
Upon her parents’ journey from Kermanshah to Tehran to identify her remains, they observed several other young individuals who had met similar fates. The death toll from the recent wave of protests in Iran has risen to at least 538 individuals, with over 10,600 people detained, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. Among the casualties, 490 were protesters and 48 were security forces members, with concerns that the toll could increase further.
The Iranian government has not disclosed comprehensive casualty figures related to the demonstrations. In response to President Donald Trump’s warnings against violence towards protesters, no action has been taken so far. Iran’s parliament speaker cautioned that the U.S. military and Israel could become “legitimate targets” if the U.S. intervenes due to ongoing unrest in the country.
Protests challenging Iran’s ruling system have persisted for over two weeks, resulting in at least 203 deaths, though there are fears that the actual toll could be much higher. The information blackout within Iran has made it challenging to gauge the extent of the demonstrations from abroad, causing concerns that hard-liners in the country may intensify their crackdown on dissent.
President Trump expressed solidarity with the protesters, suggesting that Iran could be on the brink of significant change. Reports indicated that military options for a strike on Iran had been presented to Trump, but no final decision had been made as of Saturday night.