Iran Declares Mourning
The most severe demonstrations in recent years erupted in late December, triggered by the sharp decline of the rial and worsening economic hardship in the heavily sanctioned country.
The turmoil quickly spread across numerous cities, with fires and confrontations leading to multiple fatalities among both Iranian security forces and civilians, local accounts reported.
A magazine estimated the death toll at over 200, while Iranian state outlets claimed the figure was in the dozens, including a comparable number of security personnel.
“The Iranian nation has experienced firsthand how the urban terrorist criminals committed ISIS-like violence,” the government declared, citing the news agency. “To this day, such violence has not been seen except in the behavior of the American-trained ISIS.”
On Sunday, President Masoud Pezeshkian accused Washington and Tel Aviv of meddling in the disturbances. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reinforced the allegation, posting a graphic video of crowds assaulting police officers, beating them to death, and setting their corpses ablaze.
“Does this look like a ‘protest’ for FREEDOM? Or the exact kind of scenes that the US Administration would NEVER tolerate within its own borders?” he wrote on X.
Authorities imposed a nationwide internet shutdown last week, which remained in place at the time of reporting.
Days earlier, a social media account linked to Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency openly endorsed the riots and claimed its operatives were embedded among the demonstrators.
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the
information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept
any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images,
videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information
contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright
issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
Legal Disclaimer:
EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.
