ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Around 1,500 people were killed in less than two weeks of protests on the direct orders of Iran's supreme leader, Reuters has reported.
400 women and 17 teenagers are among the dead, alongside members of the security forces and policeaccording to the latest toll provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials. The figures are based on information gathered from security forces, morgues, hospitals and coroner’s offices.
Protests began in November after state proposals to hike fuel prices by 300%, angering locals already hit by fresh US sanctions.
The latest figures published by Reuters are significantly higher than previous figures from various organizations including Amnesty International, whose latest toll put the number of dead at 304.
The order to use brutal force against protesters was reportedly the result of a meeting held on November 16 between Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, security aides, president Hassan Rouhani and members of his cabinet.
“The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order,” Khamenei is said to have told the group.
Iran came under fire from Members of the European Parliament on Thursday for its use of violence, with politicians urging the country to disclose the number of protester casualties.
On December 16, Amnesty International issued a joint call alongside regional and international organisations for the UN Human Rights Council to take action against the state suppression of protests.
Amnesty also appealed for the council to launch an inquiry into the “deadly crackdown” against protesters in Iran.
The US state department has also seen evidence pointing to the death of thousands, Reuters reported
Aside from prisons, schools and military barracks are being used to hold protesters, many of whom are detained without charge.
Fresh arrests were made by security forces in the Kurdish province of Kermanshah on Thursday, where more than 20 demonstrators were gunned down by state forces in November.
