Iranian killed celebrating World Cup loss to US

An Iranian man was shot dead by the security forces after celebrating when the United States eliminated his country's national team from the World Cup, rights groups said Wednesday.

Iran was knocked out of the World Cup by the United States in Qatar on Tuesday night, drawing a mixed response from pro- and anti-regime supporters.

Many had refused to support the national team as a result of a bloody government crackdown on more than two months of protests sparked by the in-custody death of Mahsa Amini.

Mehran Samak, 27, was shot dead after honking his car horn in Bandar Anzali, a city on the Caspian Sea coast northwest of Tehran, human rights groups said.

Samak "was targeted directly and shot in the head by security forces .. following the defeat of the national team against America," said Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights (IHR).

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) also reported that he had been killed by the security forces while celebrating.

CHRI published a video from his funeral in Tehran on Wednesday, at which mourners could be heard shouting "Death to the dictator."

The chant aimed at Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is one of the main slogans of the protests that flared after Amini's death on Sept. 16.

Iran's security forces have killed at least 448 people in the crackdown on the protests, including 60 children and 29 women, according to IHR.

An Iranian general said on Monday that more than 300 people have been killed in the unrest.