Tehran (Iran): An Iranian official on Tuesday claimed that around 2,000 people were killed during recent protests in Iran, blaming “terrorists” for the deaths of both civilians and security personnel, according to Reuters.
The remarks came amid growing international concern over the handling of protests by Iranian authorities. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, said he was “horrified” by the escalating violence used by Iran’s security forces against peaceful demonstrators.
“This cycle of horrific violence cannot continue. The Iranian people and their demands for fairness, equality and justice must be heard,” Turk said in a statement read out by UN human rights office spokesperson Jeremy Laurence.
When asked about the scale of the fatalities, Laurence said that based on the United Nations’ own sources in Iran, the number of those killed runs into the hundreds. He indicated that the UN is continuing to assess the situation amid restrictions on access and information.
The contrasting figures highlight the uncertainty surrounding the true toll of the unrest, as protests and the official response to them continue to draw global scrutiny.
