Iran Seeks Peace Amid Regional Crisis, Blames Sanctions for Economic Woes

Ilahi, in an interview with ANI, said that the economic problems are caused by sanctions against the nation.

"Actually we hope that the situation will be good. We are looking for peace, we are looking for the security, but some other people doesn't want that one because this crisis and the problem which created by some people it burns the region and the Middle East and all countries will be affected by this crisis and the problem. We hope that everything will calm down and will be calm and peace and security will cover everything," he said.

Ilahi said that the government is working to solve the economic issues.

"Actually the government should listen to the demand of the people and they are going to solve the problem. Even the President announced that we are listening to the people and we will try as much as possible to solve their problems and they try to do that one but something is not in their hand because the majority of this problem comes from abroad from the other people from the unlawful sanctions against Iran," he said.

Iran has economic problems due to sanctions against it and some people are angry "but other people use this opportunity to reach their target and achieve their aims", Ilahi said.

Ilahi said that there is need to distinguish between "reality of the situation" and "imagination" about the situation in Iran."Concerning the situation in Iran, actually we have two things which we have to divide and differentiate between them. The first one is the fact and the reality of the situation. The second one is imagination, which is created by the journalist's narration, by the enemies, or by other people. There is a very deep gap between these two realities," he said.

"The first one is fact, reality, and the second one is imagination...Yes, we have economic problems; some are angry with the situation of the economy, which was created by some countries against Iran, based on the sanctions. But other people use this opportunity to reach their target and achieve their aims. Now, at the moment, the situation is very good, is under control and is not as much as mentioned on social media," he added.

Asked about people killed in Iran during the crackdown on nationwide protests, Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi, said there are some people who are killed, but the numbers are not clear.

"At first, these protesters attacked civilians, policemen, and businessmen and killed them as they wanted to benefit from this situation, and they mentioned that these people were killed by policemen, which is not true...Yes, the number of killings was mentioned by some organisations which are based in the UK, the US, and in European countries or other countries. But these numbers are incorrect and fake. They want to increase the number of killings to mention that the government killed them," he said.

He alleged that there have been attempts to create problems.

"Other people use this opportunity to come out and to do some demonstration against the people and exactly what's happened here is the same lot....like what happened by ISIS in some years ago because they beheaded some innocent people, they burned some innocent people and they attacked some mosques and they burned some library. Even they attacked some policemen... because some enemies tried to bring problem in the society of Iran," he said.

He said a lot of the numbers of those killed in protest are fake.

"Recently it was an interview with a senator in America. I said these organisations are made by US, based whether in the UK or in the US....mentioned a lot of numbers which are fake....these numbers are not correct," he said.

"We have a lot of evidence. The majority of them are innocent people who were working in their shops, in the clinic or in the hospital or wrere in the mosque. They were killed by these protesters. But some protesters were also killed after attacking policemen and after attacking the civilians, and the police wanted to stop them," he added.

Meanwhile, Iranian state television has released the first official death toll from the recent anti-government protests that engulfed the country, reporting that 3,117 people were killed during the crackdown, as reported by Al Jazeera. In a statement carried by Press TV on Wednesday, Iran's Martyrs Foundation said that 2,427 of those killed in the demonstrations were civilians and security forces.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has said 4,519 were killed during the wave of demonstrations, including 4,251 protesters, 197 security personnel, 35 people aged under 18 and 38 bystanders who it says were neither protesters nor security personnel.

HRANA also said 9,049 additional deaths were under review, as per Al Jazeera.

The demonstrations, which began in late December with shopkeepers protesting against the flailing currency and the cost of living, snowballed into a widespread anti-government movement, as per Al Jazeera.

The government crackdown was widely condemned, with US President Donald Trump threatening to intervene in support of the protesters.

- ANI