Khaberni - Western media reports reveal a stark discrepancy in the number of victims of the ongoing protests in Iran amidst the ambiguity that complicates an accurate assessment of the field situation. While the Iranian authorities have not issued any official death toll so far, Reuters quoted an unnamed "Iranian official" on Tuesday, stating that the death toll since the protests began in late December was about 2000 people, attributing the escalation of violence to "terrorists supported from abroad.".
Conversely, the American network "CBS" reported from sources inside Iran and others in Washington, preliminary assessments suggest the real death toll could exceed 12 thousand people, and might even reach 20 thousand, according to activists gathering testimonies from doctors nationwide. However, the network confirmed that it was unable to independently verify these figures.
Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary Ivette Cooper stated before the Parliament that London believes the number could be "much higher" than 2000 people, without providing an exact estimate.
