Iran intensifies violent crackdown on protests as number of casualties rises

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Iranian security forces have been firing on protestors in western Iran, as the number of civilian casualties rises to at least 419, the Jerusalem Post reports. The ongoing protests across Iran broke out in mid-September after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish-Iranian woman, died in custody following her arrest for not wearing a hijab correctly.

According to the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei probably recently issued an order for the violent suppression of protests, JPost said.

Evidence of the Iranian regime’s intensifying crackdown on protestors was seen Monday with video footage from several cities in western Iran showing automatic gunfire targeting civilians, JPost said.

“Protesters could be seen running for cover while automatic gunfire could be heard in the background in footage from Javanrud and Piranshahr,” JPost said in its report.

“The intensified crackdown reportedly resulted in a high number of casualties among protesters in western Iran, with footage from multiple cities showing bloodied bodies in the street.”

In separate testimony posted by the 1500tasvir account, an eyewitness in Javanrud said: “Six people were shot in front of my eyes. We hid several wounded people, and they were bleeding profusely. The number of people killed is too high, I don’t know, it’s too high.”

The Iran Human Rights organization has stated that at least 419 civilians have been killed so far, with protests spreading to more than 155 cities and 140 universities, JPost said.

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