Amnesty Says at Least 208 Killed in Iran Protests, Crackdown

Iraqi demonstrators gather as flames start consuming Iran's consulate in the southern Iraqi Shiite holy city of Najaf on Nov. 27, 2019, two months into the country's most serious social crisis in decades. HAIDAR HAMDANI/AFP via Getty Images

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—At least 208 people in Iran have been killed amid protests over sharply rising gasoline prices and a subsequent crackdown by security forces, Amnesty International stated on Dec. 2, as one government official acknowledged telling police to shoot demonstrators.

Iran has yet to release any nationwide statistics about the unrest that gripped the Islamic Republic beginning Nov. 15 with minimum prices for government-subsidized gasoline rising by 50 percent. State-run media didn’t acknowledge the Amnesty report and Iran’s mission to the U.N. didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.