Thread by @HeshmatAlavi

#BREAKING
"Do whatever it takes to end it," said Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
About 1,500 people were killed during less than two weeks of unrest that started on Nov. 15. Toll provided to Reuters by three Iranian interior ministry officials.
reuters.com/article/us-ira…

On Dec 15, the Iranian opposition MEK confirmed that over 1,500 protesters were killed during the Nov nationwide uprising. At least 400 killed in Tehran, 320 in Kermanshah, 270 in Fars, 240 in Khuzestan, 120 in Isfahan, and 100 in Alborz (Karaj).
#Iran
ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statem…

"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."
#Iran
ncr-iran.org/en/ncri-statem…

"By Nov. 17, the second day, the unrest had reached the capital Tehran, with people calling for an end to the Islamic Republic and the downfall of its leaders. Protesters burned pictures of Khamenei."

https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1198623339671146497?s=20

Khamenei "was also angered by the burning of his image and the destruction of a statue of the republic’s late founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini."

https://twitter.com/HanifJazayeri/status/1195803805008445446?s=20

“'The Islamic Republic is in danger. Do whatever it takes to end it. You have my order,' [Khamenei] said. Those who attended the meeting agreed the protesters aimed to bring down the regime."

My take:
This goes against all arguments of #Iran apologists/lobbyists, such as @NegarMortazavi, saying these protests were merely over economic demands.

@NegarMortazavi "The fourth official, who was briefed on the Nov. 17 meeting, added that Khamenei made clear the demonstrations required a forceful response."

Protesters were viciously attacked & shot at point-blank range. Video from Gorgan, northern #Iran.

@NegarMortazavi "Iran’s interior minister said on Nov. 27 more than 140 government sites had been set on fire along with hundreds of banks and dozens of petrol stations, while 50 bases used by security forces were also attacked..."

Karaj - Basij site torched

@NegarMortazavi Young and working-class demonstrators demanded clerical leaders step down. In many cities, a similar chant rang out: “They live like kings, people get poorer."

Video from Isfahan, central #Iran
"People are begging, [Khamenei] lives like a god!"

@NegarMortazavi By Nov. 18 in Tehran, riot police appeared to be randomly shooting at protesters in the street “with the smell of gunfire and smoke everywhere,” said a female Tehran resident.

Tehran - Regime security forces directly shooting at protesters. (at 00:38)

@NegarMortazavi "Iranian authorities deployed lethal force at a far quicker pace from the start than in other protests in recent years, according to activists and details revealed by authorities."

Nov 16 - Shahriar, #Iran
Forces shooting protesters at point-blank range.

@NegarMortazavi A senior IRGC in western Kermanshah province said the provincial governor handed down instructions at a late-night emergency meeting at his office on Nov. 18.

“We had orders from top officials in Tehran to end the protests," the Guards member said...

... recounting the governor’s talk. “No more mercy. They are aiming to topple the Islamic Republic. But we will eradicate them.”

Nov 18 - Kermanshah, #Iran
Security forces shooting directly at protesters.

"Officials in four provinces said the message was clear — failure to stamp out the unrest would encourage people to protest in the future."

A local official in Karaj, a working-class city near [Tehran], said there were orders to use whatever force necessary to end the protests immediately. “Orders came from Tehran,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Push them back to their homes, even by shooting them.”

Residents of Karaj said they came under fire from rooftops as Revolutionary Guards and police on motorcycles brandished machine guns. “There was blood everywhere. Blood on the streets,” said one resident by telephone.

WARNING - GRAPHIC FOOTAGE - Karaj

"In Mahshahr county, in the strategically important Khuzestan province in southwest Iran, Revolutionary Guards in armored vehicles and tanks sought to contain the demonstrations."

“The next day when we went there, the area was full of bodies of protesters, mainly young people. The Guards did not let us take the bodies,” the local official said, estimating that “dozens” were killed.

The US State Dept said it received videos of IRGC opening fire on protesters in Mahshahr. And that when protesters fled to nearby marshlands, the IRGC surrounded them with machine guns mounted on trucks, spraying the protesters with bullets, killing 100+.

For those interested, this is a thread shedding more light on the events of Mahshahr & providing insight on the ruthless methods used by the mullahs' regime in #Iran against #IranProtests.

https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1201524060754186242?s=20

While the regime ruling #Iran has been busy murdering innocent civilians, it's apologists/lobbyists have been busy whitewashing, justifying & downgrading their heinous crimes.
@NegarMortazavi
@farnazfassihi
@BahmanKalbasi

@NegarMortazavi @farnazfassihi @BahmanKalbasi Meet @farnazfassihi of the @nytimes.
She is a known #Iran apologist/lobbyist now busy downgrading the recent Reuters report indicating the mullahs' regime killed over 1,500 protesters during the Nov uprising.
Notice how @NIACouncil members @SinaToossi & @RN_Costello support her.

@NegarMortazavi @farnazfassihi @BahmanKalbasi @nytimes @NIACouncil @SinaToossi @RN_Costello "All sedition inside the country are neutralized at the last minute by @Khamenei_ir," said a senior commander of #Iran's army ground forces.

This further proves that Khamenei himself was & has always been behind the crackdowns & massacres against civilians.