 "In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media shows protesters dancing and cheering around a bonfire as they take to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world, in Tehran, Iran. AP")
Around 2,000 people have been killed in ongoing nationwide protests in Iran, an Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.
The official blamed “terrorists” for the deaths of civilians and security personnel.
The weekslong protests began in Iran around two weeks ago over grievances over the poor state of the economy but soon spiralled into an all-out revolt against the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran. The protests have emerged as the biggest threat to the regime in many years.
While Iran’s leaders initially appeared to be conciliatory, they later hardened their stance and cracked down on protesters with an iron fist, with rights organisations and Iran-focussed monitors estimating several hundred killed and injured. They have also said that thousands have been arrested.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, a US-based Iranian rights monitor, reported on Sunday that there had been protests in about 585 locations in more than 185 cities across all 31 provinces of Iran and more than 10,000 people have been arrested so far, according to The New York Times.
Even as they have mounted a crackdown, Iranian leaders have sought to pursue a two-pronged approach where they have called disgruntlement about the state of affairs as legitimate and have blamed the United States and Israel of fomenting unrest. They have said ’terrorists’ have taken over legitimate protests.
Such claims of foreign sponsorship of protests have been made at a time when US President Donald Trump has threatened to intervene. There have been reports that he has been briefed about military options and they have led to fears that he could launch another round of strikes in Iran.
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View AllDefying Trump’s warning that he would respond strongly if casualties among protesters mount, Khamenei said the authorities would “not back down” and called the protesters vandals who were trying to “please” Trump.