At least 208 persons have been killed in Iran during the crackdown on the protests that broke out in the country as a consequence of the increase of petrol price, according to Amnesty International. The NGO quotes credible reports and believes that the actual numbers are likely to be higher. They said that extensive video footage has been verified, which shows security forces shooting at unarmed protesters from close range, from rooftops and even from a helicopter. Information was collected from interviews with relatives of the victims, journalists and human rights activists. Families were warned not to speak to the media or hold funeral services. “This represents a regression even by the Iranian government’s own standards”, stated Amnesty. Also Human Rights Watch accused Iranian authorities of “deliberately covering up the extent of the crackdown”. Iranian authorities reject these accusations but have not provided a death toll. The Permanent Mission of Iran to the UN questioned in a statement the credibility of Amnesty’s report, stating that Iran respects peaceful assemblies and that the fact that there were casualties among security forces showed that they exercised maximum restraint. The country accuses “thugs” linked to its rivals for the unrest, qualifying it of “very dangerous conspiracy”. On 27 November, Iranian security agents arrested at least eight people linked to the CIA, according to official news agency IRNA, while the total number of arrested reaches 7,000 people.