Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei publicly acknowledges thousands killed in anti-government protests for first time as President Donald Trump calls for new leadership in Iran.
Iran’s supreme leader has publicly acknowledged for the first time that thousands of people were killed during recent anti-government protests, according to reporting from the BBC, as President Donald Trump escalated his rhetoric and called for new leadership in Iran.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the remarks during a public address Saturday, blaming the U.S. for the unrest and violence and saying some protesters died « in an inhuman, savage manner », the BBC reported.
The protests, which began in late December over economic conditions, later expanded into calls for an end to Iran’s ruling system.
U.S.-based Iranian Human Rights Activists News Agency estimates that more than 3,000 people were killed over roughly three weeks of unrest, though Iranian authorities have not released an official death toll.
