DUBAI – Activists reported Thursday that the number of fatalities resulting from Iran’s nationwide protests last month has climbed to at least 7,002, with fears that more casualties may yet be uncovered.

The gradual increase in protest-related deaths exacerbates the already heightened tensions Iran faces both domestically and internationally. These tensions are particularly significant as Iran engages in delicate negotiations with the United States concerning its nuclear ambitions. A second round of talks remains uncertain, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has urged U.S. President Donald Trump to adopt a firmer stance against Tehran during these discussions.

Following their conversation, Trump shared on his TruthSocial platform, “While no firm decisions were made, I emphasized the need for continued negotiations with Iran to explore the possibility of a deal. If feasible, I expressed to the Prime Minister that reaching an agreement would be preferable.”

Trump further remarked, “Previously, Iran opted against making a deal, and faced consequences. That approach didn’t serve them well. Hopefully, this time they will act more reasonably and responsibly.”

Simultaneously, Iran is grappling with growing domestic unrest due to its extensive crackdown on dissent within the Islamic Republic. This public discontent might escalate as families of the deceased begin to observe the traditional 40-day mourning period for their lost relatives.

The death toll reported by activists continues to rise slowly.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which offered the latest figures, has been accurate in counting deaths during previous rounds of unrest in Iran and relies on a network of activists in Iran to verify deaths. The slow rise in the death toll has come as the agency slowly is able to crosscheck information as communication remains difficult with those inside of the Islamic Republic.

Iran’s government offered its only death toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed. Iran’s theocracy in the past has undercounted or not reported fatalities from past unrest.

The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the death toll, given authorities have disrupted internet access and international calls in Iran.

The rise in the death toll comes as Iran tries to negotiate with the United States over its nuclear program.

Diplomacy over Iran continues

Senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani met Wednesday in Qatar with Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar hosts a major U.S. military installation that Iran attacked in June, after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day Iran-Israel war in June. Larijani also met with officials of the Palestinian Hamas militant group, and in Oman with Tehran-backed Houthi rebels from Yemen on Tuesday.

Larijani told Qatar’s Al Jazeera satellite news network that Iran did not receive any specific proposal from the U.S. in Oman, but acknowledged that there was an “exchange of messages.”

Qatar has been a key negotiator in the past with Iran, with which it shares a massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf. Its state-run Qatar News Agency reported that ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with Trump about “the current situation in the region and international efforts aimed at de-escalation and strengthening regional security and peace,” without elaborating.

The U.S. has moved the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, ships and warplanes to the Middle East to pressure Iran into an agreement and have the firepower necessary to strike the Islamic Republic should Trump choose to do so.

Already, U.S. forces have shot down a drone they said got too close to the Lincoln and came to the aid of a U.S.-flagged ship that Iranian forces tried to stop in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

Trump told the news website Axios that he was considering sending a second carrier to the region. “We have an armada that is heading there and another one might be going,” he said.

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Associated Press writer Melanie Lidman in Washington contributed to this report.