US says 1000 dead in Iran protests, seizes Yemen-bound weapons

WASHINGTON - The United States said Thursday that Iranian authorities may have killed more than 1,000 people in a crackdown on demonstrations, which Washington cast as the clerical regime's worst-ever internal challenge.

The United States also said Thursday that it seized a major shipment of Iranian weapons bound for Yemen's Huthi rebels, denouncing what it called a violation of a UN arms embargo

"It appears the regime could have murdered over 1,000 Iranian citizens since the protests began," Brian Hook, the US pointman on Iran, told reporters.

He acknowledged that information was difficult to verify but said: "We know for certain it is many, many hundreds."

He went on to say that a US warship interdicted a ship on November 25 off the cost of war-ravaged Yemen and found "sophisticated weapons" of Iranian origin including land-based, anti-tank and air-defense missiles

Government crackdown on protesters

Hook said that "many thousands" of Iranians have been wounded and that at least 7,000 protesters have been detained.

Protests broke out on November 15 in Iran, which is under sweeping sanctions from the United States, after the government abruptly hiked fuel prices.

Hook said the ensuing crackdown showed that the regime has had to rely on brute force and was losing support even with its traditional working-class base.

"This is the worst political crisis the regime has faced and its 40 years," Hook said.

His death toll is sharply higher than the figure of 208 dead given by Amnesty International, which said that the figure may be higher but that it was cautious due to the difficulties in verifying information.

The United States, which considers Iran's regime its top enemy, has appealed for Iranians who can circumvent restrictions on the internet to send footage of the protests.

Hook said the United States has received photos or videos from 32,000 people and was basing its estimate on their information, as well as reports from outside groups.

Iran has dismissed the high death tolls reported by foreign sources as "utter lies" and has so far confirmed only five dead -- four security force personnel killed by "rioters" and one civilian.

Yemen-bound weapons seizure

"This discovery is yet more proof of Iran's efforts to inflame conflicts in the region by proliferating deadly weapons to its proxies," Hook told reporters.

"It is also further evidence of how Iran repeatedly violates the UN arms embargo, which has been in place for over a decade," he said, referring to 2007 Security Council ban on Tehran's weapons exports.

Iran's Shiite clerical regime supports Huthi rebels who have seized most of Yemen despite an assault led by US ally Saudi Arabia.

President Donald Trump has stood behind Saudi Arabia, including vetoing a congressional bid to end US assistance, despite wide criticism of Riyadh's air campaign, which has included strikes on hospitals and a school bus.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since 2015 and millions suffer food shortages in what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The Trump administration has been seeking to counter Iranian influence throughout the Middle East including in Iraq and Lebanon.

Hook said that Iran should end its involvement, pointing to the opening of dialogue between the Saudis and Huthis.

"Iran clearly does not speak for the Huthis nor have the best interests of the Yemeni people at heart," Hook said.

Hook also announced that the State Department was offering a $15 million reward for information on Abdul Reza Shahlai, a senior officer of Iran's elite Quds Force who is allegedly operating from Yemen.

He has already faced US sanctions over a purported plot to kill the Saudi ambassador in Washington.