Iran disputes ‘exaggerated’ protest death tolls

Iran yesterday disputed death tolls issued abroad for bloodshed that erupted during protests in the country over fuel prices, after a rights group said over 160 demonstrators were killed.

The demonstrations flared in mid-November, after the price of petrol in the Islamic republic went up overnight by as much as 200 percent.

Officials in Iran have yet to say how many people died in the ensuing violence that saw banks, petrol pumps and police stations set on fire.

London-based human rights group Amnesty International said in a tweet on Friday that the crackdown claimed the lives of 161 demonstrators.