Iran International has documented the deaths of more than six thousands people during recent protests in Iran whose names do not appear on an official government list published over the weekend.
“In a shameful attempt to downplay the scale of the largest street massacre in Iran’s contemporary history, Tehran has sought to cast doubt on the figures reported by Iran International,” the broadcaster’s editorial board said in a statement on Monday.
“Yet the statistics released by the government itself constitute further evidence of their dishonesty.”
The list published by Tehran includes 2,986 names. Fewer than 100 of those overlap with the 6,634 deaths compiled by Iran International since it issued a public call for documentation from families, witnesses and citizen journalists.
The information collected includes victims’ names, photographs, places of residence, circumstances of death and testimony from relatives, gathered despite severe internet restrictions and security pressure on families inside Iran.
Protests erupted in late December and escalated sharply on January 8 and 9, following a call for nationwide action by the exiled prince Reza Pahlavi. The demonstrations were met with a sweeping security crackdown in which thousands were killed and many more wounded or detained.
Iran International has previously put the death toll at at least 36,500, citing leaked official documents—a figure Tehran disputes.
The government’s release of an official “casualties list” appears to have been intended as a rebuttal to that report, but it has instead triggered a backlash.
Critics, including families of victims and activists, have pointed to alleged errors, duplicated identities, inconsistencies in official figures, and the absence of information about unidentified bodies and missing persons.
Iranian officials say the discrepancies stem from the presence of unidentified remains—a claim critics question given the scale of the state’s security and forensic apparatus.
You can read the full statement by Iran International’s editorial board here.
