Iran's government has rejected reports of allegedly more than a hundred deaths during recent protests in the country. Said numbers on victims are "speculative, not reliable", if they are not officially confirmed, it said in a tweet by UNO delegation spokesman Alireza Miryousefi.
President Hassan Rohani claimed that the riots were "provoked by foreign countries" and have now been successfully crushed. "The Iranian people have passed another historical test and shown that it does not allow the enemies to benefit from the situation."
"The anarchists on the streets were low in number," Rohani said at a cabinet meeting. These "organized, armed anarchists" had acted according to a conspiracy by Saudi Arabia, Israel and the US.
Similarly, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the spiritual leader, said: "The enemy has been pushed back." He had already condemned the violence of "hooligans" in recent days and warned that they only use the exile opposition. Demonstrators had set fire to gas stations, bank branches and police stations during the protests and plundered businesses.
Swiss Ambassador has been invited
Amnesty International had earlier reported that more than a hundred people were killed in the protests against raising gasoline prices. This was indicated by eyewitness accounts, video footage and information from activists. The Iranian security forces used "excessive and deadly force" to quell the largely peaceful demonstrations. The exact extent of the violence in the protests is unclear, as the government has largely shut down the internet in the country.
Thousands of Iranians took to the streets in several cities in the country on Wednesday to demonstrate for the government, according to state media. The "spontaneous gatherings" of government supporters in Sandschan, Shahr-e Kord and other cities had been "the largest demonstration of Iranian nation power," Rohani claimed.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday ordered the Swiss Ambassador in Tehran over statements made by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo about the protests. His statements were an interference in the internal affairs of the country. Pompeo had been supportive of the demonstrations.
Switzerland represents Washington's interests in the Islamic Republic because the US and Iran have no diplomatic relations.
