Hackers disrupt Iran state TV as crackdown death toll surpasses 4,000

The death toll from Iran’s crackdown — which followed protests that erupted Dec. 28 over the country’s ailing economy — now exceeds that of any other round of unrest in the Islamic Republic in decades, while international pressure on Tehran mounted as both the World Economic Forum and the Munich Security Conference withdrew invitations for Iranian officials.

DUBAI — Hackers disrupted Iranian state television satellite transmissions Sunday night to broadcast footage supporting the country’s exiled crown prince and urging security forces to defect, Iran’s state broadcaster acknowledged, the latest disruption as the death toll from authorities’ crackdown on nationwide protests reached at least 4,029 people, activists said. A U.S. aircraft carrier strike group that had been operating in the South China Sea passed through the Strait of Malacca, placing it on a route that could bring it to the Middle East, ship-tracking data analyzed by the Associated Press showed.

The death toll from the crackdown — which followed protests that erupted Dec. 28 over the country’s ailing economy — now exceeds that of any other round of unrest in the Islamic Republic in decades, the AP reported. International pressure on Tehran mounted as both the World Economic Forum and the Munich Security Conference withdrew invitations for Iranian officials to attend their annual gatherings.

State television breached

The hack aired Sunday night across multiple channels broadcast by satellite from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. Footage showed two clips of exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi alongside imagery of people in what appeared to be Iranian police uniforms. The broadcast claimed, without offering evidence, that some security forces had “laid down their weapons and swore an oath of allegiance to the people.”

“This is a message to the army and security forces,” one graphic read. “Don’t point your weapons at the people. Join the nation for the freedom of Iran.”

Iran’s state broadcaster acknowledged that the signal in “some areas of the country was momentarily disrupted by an unknown source” but did not describe what had been aired. Pahlavi’s office acknowledged the disruption that showed the crown prince but did not respond to questions from the AP about the hack.

Sunday’s breach was not the first disruption of Iranian airwaves. In 2022, multiple channels aired footage of leaders from the exiled opposition group Mujahedeen-e-Khalq and a graphic calling for the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. In 1986, the CIA supplied Pahlavi’s allies a transmitter for an 11-minute clandestine broadcast to Iran, The Washington Post reported. How much support Pahlavi commands inside Iran remains uncertain, though pro-shah chants have been heard at demonstrations since the crackdown began.

Death toll mounts

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency put the death toll at least 4,029 as of Tuesday, warning the figure would likely rise as information continues to leak from a country still largely cut off from the internet. Of those killed, the agency said, 3,786 were demonstrators, 180 were security forces, 28 were children, and 35 were people not participating in demonstrations. The agency also reported over 26,000 arrests. The AP said it was unable to independently confirm the toll.

Iranian officials have not provided a clear official count. Khamenei said Saturday that the protests had left “several thousand” people dead — the first acknowledgment by an Iranian leader of the extent of the casualties — and blamed the United States for the deaths.

Iran’s president, judiciary chief, and parliament speaker issued a joint statement Monday saying: “While the killers and seditious terrorists will be punished, Islamic mercy and leniency will be applied to those who were deceived and did not have (effective) roles in the terrorist event.”

Comments from officials have raised fears that some of those detained could face execution. Iran is among the world’s top executioners.

Carrier moves through Strait of Malacca

Ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP showed the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier in the Strait of Malacca after passing Singapore overnight Monday. The Lincoln had previously been in the South China Sea as a deterrent to China over tensions with Taiwan.

Three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers — the USS Frank E. Petersen Jr., the USS Michael Murphy, and the USS Spruance — were traveling with the carrier through the strait. Multiple U.S. media reports citing anonymous officials said the Lincoln was headed to the Middle East; the carrier, homeported in San Diego, would still need several days of travel before its aircraft would be in range of the region.

The Middle East has been without an aircraft carrier group or an amphibious ready group, the AP reported, a factor that would complicate any military operation targeting Iran. Gulf Arab states have broadly opposed such an attack.

President Donald Trump has drawn two red lines for Iran — the killing of peaceful protesters and Tehran conducting mass executions in the wake of the demonstrations.

Diplomatic isolation

The World Economic Forum withdrew its invitation for Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to speak at its annual gathering in Davos, Switzerland.

“Although he was invited last fall, the tragic loss of lives of civilians in Iran over the past few weeks means that it is not right for the Iranian government to be represented at Davos this year,” the forum said.

Araghchi denounced the decision, saying the forum “cancelled my appearance in Davos on the basis of lies and political pressure from Israel and its U.S.-based proxies and apologists.” The Munich Security Conference separately withdrew its invitation for Iranian government officials over the crackdown.