Iran demands ‘surrender’ of protesters

Iranian officials said that the protests began peacefully but then turned violent, blaming external actors such as the United States and Israel for provoking the unrest.

By Dinah Bucholz, Jewish Breaking News

Amid fears that the Iranian regime is putting arrested protesters to death as an instrument of fear, the government demanded that anyone who participated in what it is terming the “riots” turn themselves in.

National Police Chief Ahmad-Reza Radan said Monday that protesters have three days to surrender but will be dealt with leniently, as they had been “deceived.”

Failure to comply, however, will result in the harshest possible sentence, he warned.

Radan announced on state television that those “who became unwittingly involved in the riots are considered to be deceived individuals, not enemy soldiers,” and “will be treated with leniency.”

But signaling what may lie ahead, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that the government “must break the back of the seditionists.”

Iranian officials said that the protests began peacefully but then turned violent, blaming external actors such as the United States and Israel for provoking the unrest.

A brutal crackdown left thousands dead. Human rights groups place the death toll at more than 3,000 but say the actual number could be much higher.

While authorities threatened the protesters with retribution, they also said they would work to alleviate economic hardship, which they said sparked the unrest.

President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and Judiciary Chief Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei made the promise in a joint statement that was broadcast on state television.

They said they would “work around the clock” to “resolve livelihood and economic problems” but would “decisively punish” those responsible for what they called “terrorist incidents.”

The United Nations has expressed alarm over possible executions, saying the government could be using the death penalty as “a tool of state intimidation.”

Iran remains second only to China in the number of executions it carries out per year, about 1,500 executions reported last year.

While Iranian state media claims to have arrested about 3,000 people, human rights groups estimate the number of detainees could be as high as 20,000.

Iran’s future remains uncertain. De facto martial law reigns as heavily armored vehicles and security personnel patrol the streets.

Once-bustling, traffic-clogged streets are quiet and empty, as stores and restaurants close by 6 p.m.

And while President Donald Trump backed away from his promise to aid protesters, the movement of U.S. military assets to the Middle East suggests he may still be considering military options against Iran.