12,000 reportedly dead in Iran amid protests against regime, according to media
Illustrative photo: the death toll from unrest in Iran may exceed all estimates (Getty Images)
In Iran, the death toll from large-scale anti-government protests that have been ongoing for 16 days may already reach 12,000. Previous figures were significantly lower, while the regime is concealing any evidence of this crime, according to Iran International.
The outlet published a statement by its editorial board titled The killing of 12,000 Iranians will not be buried in silence. The statement says that the number of victims of the crackdown on protests in Iran is enormous, but the regime is blocking information about the true scale of the repression.
"Internet cuts, crippled communications, media shutdowns, and intimidation of journalists and witnesses point to one goal: preventing a vast and historic crime from being seen," the statement said.
'The largest massacre in modern Iranian history'
According to the outlet, over two consecutive nights — January 8 and 9 — regime security forces killed at least 12,000 people. Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Basij militias carried out the shootings and killings.
Sources with access to information from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the presidential administration said the killings were a fully organized campaign. There can be no talk of them being the result of "sporadic" or "unplanned" clashes.
According to the sources, the killings were carried out on the direct orders of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with the full consent of the heads of all branches of power, including the country’s president. The order was issued by the Supreme National Security Council, which authorized security forces to use live ammunition.
Most of those killed were young people under the age of 30. At the same time, all means of communication are silent about the tragedy: since January 8, hundreds of national and local newspapers have published nothing, which is already an unprecedented phenomenon.
"Today, aside from the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), only a handful of news websites remain active inside the country, and they too operate under censorship and the direct control of security institutions. This is not 'crisis control.' It is an admission of fear that the truth will be exposed," the statement said.
Searching for evidence
The outlet is urging eyewitnesses and witnesses to executions to submit any documents, video footage, photographs, audio testimonies, anything related to the victims, the situation in medical centers, sites of clashes and shootings, and other details to help confirm the events.
"The Islamic Republic cannot conceal this crime by cutting the people of Iran off from the world. The truth will be recorded; the names of those killed will be preserved; and this massacre will not be buried in silence," the statement stresses.
As of the morning of January 13, the confirmed death toll in Iran after 16 days of the largest protests against the ayatollah regime had already reached 648 people. Even then, however, it was reported that the real number of victims could be higher — though according to the bleakest estimates at the time, it could have reached up to 6,000.
