by Spencer Neale | December 23, 2019 06:01 PM
by Spencer Neale
| December 23, 2019 06:01 PM
New numbers reported by three Iranian interior ministry officials paint a picture of the magnitude of last month’s fuel hike protests in the country.
Close to 1,500 protesters are said to have been murdered in what marks the bloodiest political shakedown since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Mounting economic despair and a surprise November fuel price hike, which increased gas prices by as much as 200%, led Iranians to demonstrate, with early death estimates far lower than what was reported on Monday.
In response to the economy and the new fuel tax, protesters filed onto the streets in more than 100 cities and towns. They burned images of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei and called for the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the former shah of Iran.
The Department of State told Reuters that they estimated hundreds had died during the protests but included that the number could be over 1,000.
On the second day of protests, Khamenei reportedly met with President Hassan Rouhani and other leaders to discuss the protests. According to one source, Khamenei told them: “The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order.”
Another source who was present at the meeting said Khamenei issued a declaration of force against the protesters. “He was very firm and said those rioters should be crushed,” said the source.
In the Kermanshah province, a senior member of the Revolutionary Guard tasked with putting down the protests said he was given strict orders to use whatever means necessary to quash the protesters. “No more mercy. They are aiming to topple the Islamic Republic. But we will eradicate them,” the guard was told.
A spokesman for Iran’s Supreme National Security Council blasted the new figures, saying the report was “fake news.”
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