Manifestantes se congregan mientras arden vehículos durante protestas contra el régimen en Teherán, Irán (REUTERS)
Human rights organizations warn that the number of victims could exceed 25,000.
The Iranian regime admitted this Wednesday that at least 3,117 people died during the protests that erupted at the end of December, but activists and human rights organizations warn that the real figure could be considerably higher.
The announcement, made by the Foundation of Veterans and Martyrs and broadcast on state television, represents the first official acknowledgment of the scale of the violence, although the data has been quickly questioned by independent observers.
The protest movement, initially driven by economic discontent, evolved into a nationwide wave of strikes and demonstrations that openly challenged the theocracy established after the 1979 revolution.
According to the secretary of the National Security Council, Ali Akbar Pourjamshidian, 2,427 of the deceased are considered “martyrs,” including both civilians and members of the security forces. Another 690, according to the official version, were classified as “terrorists, rioters, and attackers of military facilities.”
However, independent sources insist that the Iranian regime has a long history of underestimating the impact of state repression. Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, director of the Norway-based organization Iran Human Rights (IHR), warned that “all available evidence indicates that the true number of deaths during the protests is much higher.”
According to Amiry-Moghaddam, if the same pattern of concealment that the regime has followed in other contexts, such as executions, is applied, the death toll could reach or even exceed 25,000.
“The evidence we have consistently points to the state's responsibility: protesters were attacked with live ammunition by security forces and their allies, including the use of heavy machine guns,” Amiry-Moghaddam stated. The US-based organization Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) raised the number of verified deaths to 4,560, although it acknowledged that the figure could be much higher given the difficulty in collecting information in a country under a strict internet blackout.
The Iranian regime has defended the actions of the security forces, insisting that the unrest was provoked by “terrorist elements” supported by the United States and Israel. But organizations such as Amnesty International have documented the deliberate use of live ammunition and shots fired at protesters' eyes from rooftops and elevated positions, as well as the repression against women and minors. The Hengaw group, also based in Norway, confirmed the deaths of at least 42 women at the hands of state forces.
The lack of access to independent information remains one of the main obstacles to knowing the true extent of the repression. The monitoring group Netblocks has documented more than 300 hours of total internet and telephone blackouts since January 8, making communication difficult both within and outside the country. Videos that have managed to get out of Iran show overcrowded morgues, bodies with gunshot wounds, and families trying to identify the dead in chaotic conditions.
The protests, which began over the rising cost of living and the economic crisis exacerbated by international sanctions, soon transformed into a direct challenge to the clerical leadership. The regime's response was to deploy police and military forces in major cities, cut off communications, and launch direct attacks against the protesters.
“The world is watching,” warned Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, who called on the international community to establish mechanisms to protect Iranian civilians and sanction those responsible for the repression.
In parallel, tensions with the United States have escalated. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned in an article in The Wall Street Journal that “if Iran is attacked, it will respond with full force,” while President Donald Trump reiterated that any Iranian aggression would receive a “swift” response. While Iranian authorities attempt to close the chapter on the protests and blame "external enemies," civil society and human rights organizations insist that state violence cannot go unpunished. The true human cost of the repression may take weeks or months to become fully known, but it already surpasses any similar episode in the country's recent history.
(With information from AFP and EFE)
0 Comments