The mass protests in Iran appear to be more contentious and pose a greater risk to the regime than previous iterations, but it is too soon to tell whether this could topple the government.

Since the protests began last month, Iranian forces are believed to have killed more than 2,400 protesters and detained more than 18,000 others, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency. The government is carrying out a media blackout, making it much harder for protesters to communicate with one another and for them to share with the outside world what’s going on inside the country. Some have estimated the death toll to be thousands more.