Amidst violent protests over hike on fuel in Iran, a total of 731 banks and 140 government sites were torched the country, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in remarks published by the official IRNA news agency on Wednesday.
According to IRNA, Rahmani Fazli also said that up to 200,000 people took part nationwide in the unrest that began on Nov. 15 after the announcement of gasoline price hikes.
On Monday, London-based Amnesty International said that it had recorded at least 143 protesters killed in the protests, the worst anti-government unrest in Iran since authorities put down the “Green Revolution” demonstrations against election fraud in 2009.
The protests quickly turned political, with protesters calling on top leaders to step down. The government has blamed “thugs” linked to exiles and the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia for stirring up the street unrest.
On November 22, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Iranians to send photos and other information documenting repression, while vowing to sanction “abuses” by the Islamic republic.
US President Donald Trump accused Iran of blocking the internet to cover up “death and tragedy”.
The protests came as new US sanctions imposed this year cut off nearly all of Iran’s oil exports, and as similar protest movements erupted in Iraq and Lebanon against governments that include heavily armed pro-Iran factions.