DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) Iranian state television today acknowledged security forces shot and killed what it described as rioters in multiple cities amid recent protests over the spike in government-set gasoline prices the first time that authorities have offered any sort of accounting for the violence they used to put down the demonstrations.
Amnesty International believes the unrest and crackdown that followed, beginning in mid-November, killed at least 208 people. An Iranian judiciary official disputed the toll as sheer lies, without offering any evidence to support his position.
Iran shut down internet access amid the unrest, blocking those inside the country from sharing their videos and information. It also limited the outside worlds insight into the scale of the protests and the violence, though online videos have emerged purporting to show security forces shooting protesters.
The recent demonstrations over gasoline prices while not drawing as many Iranians into the streets as the 2009 protests over the countrys disputed presidential election rapidly turned violent, faster than previous rallies.
That shows the widespread economic discontent gripping Iran since May 2018, when President Donald Trump imposed crushing sanctions after unilaterally withdrawing from Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers.
The demonstrations came after months of attacks across the Mideast that the U.S. blames on Tehran. Meanwhile, Iran has begun breaking the limits of the nuclear deal in hopes of pressuring Europe into finding a way for Tehran to sell its crude oil abroad despite American sanctions.
The state TV report alleged that some of those killed were rioters who have attacked sensitive or military centers with firearms or knives or have taken hostages in some areas. The report described others killed as passers-by, security forces and peaceful protesters, without assigning blame for their deaths.
In one case, the report said security forces confronted a separatist group armed with semi-heavy weapons in the city of Mahshahr in Irans southwestern Khuzestan province.
The surrounding oil-rich provinces Arab population long has complained of discrimination by Irans central government and insurgent groups have attacked oil pipelines in the past there. Online videos purportedly from the area showed peaceful protests, as well as clashes between demonstrators and security forces.
The marshes you see behind me and on the right are where hostile groups were hiding and shooting at the police, but praise to Allah, the armed forces deftly and vigilantly came to the field and foiled their plots, Mahshahr police chief Col. Reza Papi said in the report.
State TV also acknowledged that security forces confronted rioters in Tehran, as well as in the cities of Shiraz and Sirjan. It also mentioned Shahriar, a suburb of Tehran where Amnesty on Monday said there had been dozens of deaths. It described the suburb as likely one of the areas with the highest toll of those killed in the unrest. Shahriar has seen heavy protests.
Amnesty offered no breakdown for the deaths elsewhere in the country, though it said the real figure is likely to be higher.
Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili disputed Amnestys death toll.
I bluntly say that numbers and figures given by hostile groups are sheer lies, he told reporters today. Real statistics are seriously different from what they announce and numbers are far less than what they claim.
However, Esmaili like every other Iranian official since the crackdown offered no evidence to support his claim, nor any casualty information. A United Nations agency also has said it fears the unrest may have killed a significant number of people.
