Iranian regime admits thousands of protesters killed; estimates of independent groups are 12,000 or more
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A crime of grotesque proportions:
Over 12,000 people have been killed during the protests in Iran, largely over the course of Thursday and Friday nights, Iran International reported on Tuesday, describing the events as “the largest killing in Iran’s contemporary history.”
These figures are unconfirmed estimates by the outlet.
One source within Iran told CBS that the death toll could be as high as 20,000 people.
Given that the regime itself is admitting to 3,000 deaths we can be pretty sure the real number is much higher:
A senior Iranian health ministry official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said about 3,000 people had been killed across the country but sought to shift the blame to “terrorists” fomenting unrest. The figure included hundreds of security officers, he said.
Another government official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity, said he had seen an internal report that referred to at least 3,000 dead, and added that the toll could climb.
If confirmed, the death toll would be among the worst in recent Iranian history.
Witnesses spoke of seeing snipers positioned on rooftops in downtown Tehran and firing into crowds; of peaceful protests turning abruptly into scenes of carnage and panic as bullets pierced through people’s heads and torsos, sending bodies toppling to the ground; and of an emergency room treating 19 gunshot patients in a single hour.
“The regime is on a killing spree,” said one protester, Yasi. She, like other Iranians interviewed by The New York Times, asked that her full name be withheld for safety.
Yasi, who is in her 30s and works for a publishing company, said she was marching along Andarzgoo Boulevard in Tehran on Friday night with friends when security forces stormed in and shot a teenage boy in the leg as his mother looked on.
“My son! My son! They shot my son!” the woman cried, Yasi said.
Videos posted to social media on Monday night and verified by The New York Times showed a large crowd of protesters in Tehran. The sound of gunfire could be heard, and the cry: “Death to the dictator!”
The courage of these people is unimaginable to me, but we here in oh so exceptional America may soon have to be developing better imaginations.