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The Iranian government has published the names of nearly 3,000 individuals killed in what it describes as “foreign-backed riots” of early January, the Iranian state Press TV news agency reported.
The U.S. and several of its allies have accused Iranian authorities of violently suppressing peaceful protests, while Tehran said that “foreign-backed terrorists” had incited the clashes, which left thousands dead. Some media outlets claimed that the death toll could exceed tens of thousands, but Tehran denied this and vowed to release the names of all the victims.
On Sunday, the Iranian Presidency released a statement on its website containing a list of 2,986 people killed. The list included full names, fathers’ names, and the last six digits of each individual’s national identity number, according to the report.
According to the statement, the total number of fatalities was 3,117, with the identities of 131 individuals still pending verification by Iran’s civil registration organization.
Iranian authorities have accused Israel and the U.S. of inciting the riots with “intelligence services providing funding, training, and media backing.”