An aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Syed Ali Khamenei has made a rare public acknowledgement that people were killed during protests in Iran, while strongly rejecting claims that the government carried out large-scale violence. Speaking from India, Abdul Majid Hakeem Ilahi said that although deaths did occur, the figures reported by international organisations were “incorrect” and “fake,” and driven by foreign interests.

Ilahi expressed hope that the situation in Iran and the wider region would improve. He said that Iran wanted peace and stability but blamed external forces for creating unrest. “Actually, we hope that the situation will be good. We are looking for peace, we are looking for security, but some other people don’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 while speaking to ANI news agency.

Iran has witnessed widespread protests since late December last year, which have also led to international tensions. Activists have accused the Iranian government of deadly crackdowns and claimed that thousands were killed. The United States has also issued multiple warnings of intervention amid the unrest.

Ilahi said Iran’s economic problems were mainly caused by international sanctions and insisted that the government was trying to respond to people’s demands. “Actually, the government should listen to the demands 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.

He acknowledged that many people were angry about economic conditions, but claimed that others were taking advantage of the situation. According to him, Iran’s economic difficulties had created frustration among citizens, but some groups were using this unrest to achieve their own goals. “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’,” he said.

Ilahi also argued that the situation in Iran was being misrepresented and that there was a gap between reality and perception. “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.

He further explained that while economic problems exist, the situation is not as severe as portrayed on social media. “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.

When asked about people killed during the protests, Ilahi admitted that deaths had occurred but blamed protesters for initiating violence. “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 also alleged that the unrest was influenced by external forces trying to destabilise Iran. “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 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 problems in the society of Iran,” he said.

Ilahi further claimed that reported death figures were fabricated by foreign-based organisations. “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.

He insisted that many victims were ordinary citizens who were not part of the protests. “We have a lot of evidence. The majority of them are innocent people who were working in their shops, in the clinic, in the hospital or were 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.

Ilahi’s remarks mark an unusual acknowledgement from a representative of Iran’s leadership about deaths during the protests, while continuing to deny allegations of large-scale state violence and blaming external forces, sanctions, and misinformation for the crisis.