Death toll from Iranian protests surpasses 2,000, activists say, as chaos recalls 1979 revolution

The death toll from nationwide protests in Iran surpassed 2,000 people on Tuesday, activists said, as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications during a crackdown on demonstrators.

The number of dead climbed to at least 2,003, as reported by the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. That figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Iranian state television offered the first official acknowledgment of the high death toll, quoting an official saying the country had "a lot of martyrs" and that it did not release a toll earlier because of the dead suffering gruesome injuries. However, that statement came only after activists reported their toll.