WASHINGTON - Iranian security forces may
have killed more than 1000 people since protests over gasoline
price hikes began in mid-November, US Special Representative
for Iran Brian Hook said on Thursday.
"As the truth is trickling out of Iran, it appears the
regime could have murdered over a thousand Iranian citizens
since the protests began," Hook told reporters at a briefing at
the State Department.
He added that "many thousands of Iranians" had also been
wounded and at least 7000 detained in Iran's prisons.
The unrest, which began on November 15 after the government
abruptly raised fuel prices by as much as 300%, spread to more
than 100 cities and towns and turned political as young and
working-class protesters demanded clerical leaders step down.
Tehran has given no official death toll but Amnesty
International said on Monday it had documented the deaths of at
least 208 protesters, making the disturbances the bloodiest
since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Tehran’s clerical rulers have blamed “thugs” linked to its
opponents in exile and the country’s main foreign foes - the
United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia - for the unrest.