In mid-November 2019, numerous cities across Iran witnessed unprecedented protests against the regime. The demonstrations erupted following the sudden tripling of gasoline prices, and the regime’s severe crackdown resulted in the deaths of at least 1,500 protesters.
At that time, as news of the killings spread, the government shut down internet access, concealing the full extent of human rights abuses being committed by security forces.
These widespread protests, which occurred in a significant number of cities across Iran, initially responded to the sudden fuel price hike but quickly shifted to targeting the regime itself.
The death toll: A figure that was never fully disclosed.
Reported death tolls from the November 2019 protests vary widely, ranging from 200 to over 4,200 people.
In June 2020, then-Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated that between 200 and 225 people were killed in the protests and acknowledged that they had died from gunfire by government forces.
Just a week earlier, Amnesty International had reported at least 304 deaths and suggested that the actual death toll was likely much higher.
Meanwhile, on December 23, 2019, the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran, the country’s largest opposition group, and later Reuters, reported 1,500 deaths in the protests, citing “three sources close to the leader’s inner circle” and “a fourth official.” According to these sources, Ali Khamenei had instructed senior officials to “do whatever it takes to stop” the protests.
The death toll reported by Reuters has been accepted by much of the Iranian public, including many families of the protest victims. However, data from Iran’s Civil Registration Organization suggest that the number of casualties may be much higher.
According to this data, the number of recorded deaths in November 2019 was 38,517. In the preceding month, October, it was 34,316, and in December, it was 33,615.
These statistics indicate that in November, registered deaths were 4,201 higher than in October and 4,902 more than in December of that year.
Some studies suggest that a pathogenic factor such as COVID-19, seasonal influenza, or natural statistical fluctuations due to unrecorded deaths cannot account for the high death toll in November 2019.
Nevertheless, due to the lack of sufficient statistical data on the number of deaths across various provinces, precise comparisons to assess the death toll are not possible.
Mahboubeh Ramazani, the mother of Pejman Gholipour, a young man killed on November 17 in Marlik, Karaj, said that while she was in the hospital hallway, a body was transferred to the morgue every five or ten minutes—bodies of those killed in the protests.
Afterward, the young man’s family went to file a complaint at the Malard County office. An official there told Pejman’s father, “Since the night of November 17, I’ve handled 850 cases here; you won’t get anywhere with this.”
In another incident, the Iranian regime carried out a large-scale massacre of protesters in Bandar Mahshahr using heavy weaponry like DShK machine guns. The regime deployed tanks to contain the situation in the city. On November 18, 2019, the IRGC fired at protesters, who sought refuge in nearby marshes to avoid the gunfire. The IRGC forces, however, fired into the marshes with DShK machine guns, killing around 100 people. The New York Times confirmed this event on December 3, 2019.
Which cities were involved?
The responsible institutions in the Iranian regime have never agreed to calls for a truth-finding committee regarding the November 2019 protests.
In December 2019, then-Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli stated in an interview with Iranian television that the protests mainly occurred in “marginalized” areas. Five provinces experienced a “special situation,” and 100 locations within Tehran also saw protests.
According to Rahmani Fazli, protests occurred in 27 provinces, with Khuzestan, Isfahan, Fars, and Tehran designated as “special” due to the intensity of the protests.
A few days later, Ali Darabi, deputy head of provincial affairs at the state broadcasting organization IRIB, wrote in a note published by Fars News Agency that “over 200 cities, large and small, were involved in the protests.”
At least 8,600 people were arrested in 22 provinces during these protests.
Many of the regime’s supporters consider the November 2019 protests a closed case. However, the families of victims seeking justice and some opponents of the Iranian regime continue to say, “November continues.”
