Iranian authorities confirmed on Wednesday the deaths of more than 3,000 people, including minors, in the anti-government protests that began in late December over the economic crisis, although Tehran attributes the deaths to “terrorist incidents,” rather than to repression by its security forces.
The Foundation for Martyrs and Veterans Affairs reported that a total of 3,117 people “have attained the grace of martyrdom,” specifying that 2,427 of them were civilians and security forces. However, it did not provide details on the identity of the remaining nearly 700, according to a statement reported by Iranian state television, IRIB.
“For what crime did these oppressed children of Iran die? The innocent blood of the youth has been cruelly shed by trained terrorist elements. Their innocent bodies have been burned, their heads decapitated. Many were bystanders (…) and some were protesters who were shot by terrorist elements organized within the crowd,” the organization stated.
It also asserted that Tehran “will not forgive the terrorists affiliated with the criminal Zionist regime, nor their followers and agents, who have been supported, equipped, and armed by criminal leaders of the United States.” “The murderers of the children of this homeland, and those who support them, will answer for their evil deeds,” it declared.
Subsequently, the National Security Council, which echoed the aforementioned death toll, stated that after the Twelve-Day War launched by Israel—and later joined by the United States—”the enemy concluded that the mere use of military means could not force the Iranian nation to surrender.” Therefore, “they changed their tactics and targeted social cohesion in order to break the national will.” Thus, he recounted that initially there were “peaceful protests in some cities,” but that “cells of organized chaos did not want the gatherings to continue peacefully and caused harm to the population and the country by turning the demonstrations into violence between January 9 and 17.”
“Following this stage, on January 18 and 19, with the aim of destabilizing the situation and sowing insecurity through the use of maximum violence and selective and organized armed attacks with the intention of killing and destroying public and private property, numerous terrorist acts were perpetrated in various parts of the country,” he explained.
In this context, “damage” was reported to markets, medical centers, banks, and sacred sites, as well as ambulances and public transportation vehicles. “The terrorists have committed crimes in the style of the Islamic State,” he argued, clarifying that during those two days “atrocious crimes on a large scale were committed with the support of those who wish ill” upon the country.
The government foundation thus provided the first official death toll from these demonstrations, even though the latest figures provided by human rights organizations indicate more than 4,500 confirmed deaths, while another 9,000 deaths are being investigated, amid a telecommunications blackout.
In recent days, Iran maintained that the demonstrations escalated into violence to give U.S. President Donald Trump an “excuse” to intervene militarily. Therefore, it advocated for a dialogue process with Washington to resolve the differences, although it affirmed that the country is “prepared” to face a military conflict.
