Iran’s police chief gives protesters three days to surrender, while the government vows to tackle economic issues amid a deadly crackdown.
PARIS: Iran’s top police officer has issued a three-day ultimatum for protesters involved in recent unrest to surrender or face the full force of the law.
National police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan urged young people “deceived” into joining what authorities call “riots” to turn themselves in for leniency.
He told state television those “who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers”.
The government simultaneously pledged to work on resolving the economic hardships that sparked the widespread demonstrations.
In a joint statement, President Masoud Pezeshkian, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei vowed to tackle livelihood problems.
They also promised to “decisively punish” the instigators of what they termed “terrorist incidents”.
The scale of the crackdown remains unclear due to an ongoing internet blackout now in its 11th day.
The Iran Human Rights NGO says it has verified that 3,428 protesters were killed by security forces.
The NGO’s director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam warned the actual death toll could be “many thousands” higher.
“There is no doubt that the Islamic republic has committed one of the largest mass killings of protesters in our time,” he stated.
The United Nations warned Iran is using executions as “a tool of state intimidation”.
UN rights chief Volker Turk noted Iran executed an estimated 1,500 people last year.
Security officials cited by Iranian media said around 3,000 people have been arrested, though rights groups estimate up to 20,000.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday authorities “must break the back of the seditionists”.
Internet access is expected to “gradually” return to normal this week, according to a vice president.
President Pezeshkian criticised the internet restrictions, calling for “better governance” of cyberspace.
Images from Tehran showed buildings and billboards destroyed during the rallies.
In Mashhad, damage to public infrastructure exceeded RM70 million, the city’s mayor said.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan described the unrest as a “new test” for Tehran.
He pledged Turkey would “stand against any initiative” that would drag the region into chaos.
