Stephen’s view:
What has been the deadliest event in Iran in 2026? The worst violence?
Probably most people in the world would imagine that it has happened over the last four weeks of war. The United States and Israel have hit thousands of targets in Iran, and we see many photos of the destruction that this has caused. Iran's Health Ministry says that at least 2,076 people have been killed by US-Israeli bombing since 28th February, including 216 children.
I don't want to diminish the pain and suffering caused by anyone's death, especially children. However, if we just look at the cold, hard numbers, the number of people killed (2,076) is much lower than most estimates for how many Iranians were killed at the hands of their own regime in January.
During protests in January, Iranian security forces (the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, the paramilitary Basij militia, and other paramilitary groups) killed thousands, and probably tens of thousands of protesters. The government's own statistics say that they killed over 3,000 'terrorists', and various human rights groups have said that over 30,000 protesters were killed, mostly by being shot.
I don't want to highlight this to justify the actions of the US and Israel in Iran right now. After all, the regime that perpetrated the massacres in January seems to still be mostly intact - despite many of its leaders being assassinated.
I want to highlight this to remind you that it should be possible to hold two thoughts in our heads at the same time; even if you disagree with the US-Israeli bombing of Iran, you can also recognize that the Iranian people deserve better than the tyrannical autocracy that they live under.
I'll try to keep it lighter next week!
Have a great weekend.
Stephen
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