Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly ordered the slaughter of over a thousand protesters, including hundreds of women, last month as demonstrators took to the streets across the Islamic nation in protest over rising fuel costs.
“Gathering his top security and government officials together, he issued an order: Do whatever it takes to stop them,” Reuters reported earlier this week. “That order, confirmed by three sources close to the supreme leader’s inner circle and a fourth official, set in motion the bloodiest crackdown on protesters since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.”
“About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15,” Reuters added. “The toll, provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials, included at least 17 teenagers and about 400 women as well as some members of the security forces and police.”
The figures obtained by Reuters, which are significantly higher than estimates made by Amnesty International and the United States State Department, came from Iranian officials and were based on information compiled by Iran’s military and records from hospitals and morgues. – READ MORE