Over 3,100 killed in riots incited by Israel, US in Iran
State foundation: 2,427 citizens martyred by ‘trained terrorists’
The recent rioting in Iran that swept almost all 31 provinces claimed 3,117 lives, the state-run Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs (FMVA) said in a statement carried by national TV on Wednesday.
“As per information received from the Iranian Legal Medicine Organization, in the recent terrorist incidents… 2,427 innocent Iranian citizens, including security forces and people from all walks of life, were martyred out of a total of 3,117 fatalities,” the FMVA said.
The statement added that those martyred were targeted by “trained terrorists” with “cruelty and brutality” and in some cases, “bodies were burned, dismembered and beheaded.”
According to the FMVA, many of the victims were “passersby” who were gunned down with the sole purpose of pushing up the number of casualties and some others were “protesters” who were shot dead in the crowds by “organized terrorist elements.”
The foundation noted that the Iranian nation would bring to justice what it called “terrorists affiliated with the criminal Zionist regime” of Israel who had been “supported, equipped, and armed by the criminal leaders” of the United States.
Iran was hit by a wave of street protests on December 28 in several cities, including the capital Tehran, over economic woes driven by the depreciation of the national currency to a record low.
The protests, which the government on several occasions called “legitimate” and “rightful,” turned extremely violent after armed terrorists infiltrated among the ranks of protesters in an effort to hijack their demonstrations.