The head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened the United States and its allies Monday as he addressed a pro-government demonstration attended by tens of thousands of people denouncing last week’s violent protests over a fuel price hike. General Hossein Salami, echoing other Iranian officials, accused the US, Britain, Israel and Saudi Arabia of stoking the unrest. He said the rise in fuel prices was a “mere pretext” for an attack on the nation. “If you cross our red line, we will destroy you,” he said. “We will not leave any move unanswered.” He said if Iran decides to respond, “the enemy will not have security anywhere,” adding that “our patience has a limit”. Benjamin Netanyahu accuses Iran of plotting attacks against Israel, vows to take action The warning came as Amnesty International said that at least 143 people had been killed in the protests since November 15, updating an earlier toll. The London-based rights group said it had “clear evidence” that Iranian security forces used firearms against unarmed protesters. “The rising death toll is an alarming indication of just how ruthless the treatment of unarmed protesters has been by the Iranian authorities and reveals their appalling assault on human life,” said Philip Luther, Amnesty’s research and advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa. Iran has not released a death toll and cut off internet for several days , making it difficult to ascertain the extent and severity of the demonstrations. The London-based watchdog called for world powers to condemn the bloodshed. Amnesty said “verified videos show security forces deliberately shooting unarmed protesters from a short distance. In some cases, protesters were shot while they were running away”. They also showed security forces shooting from rooftops, it said, adding that the crackdown was carried out by police, Revolutionary Guards, and the Basij paramilitary force “and others”. Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slams Iran’s ‘harmful’ expansion after street protests The unrest erupted hours after a midnight announcement that the price of petrol would be immediately raised by 50 per cent for the first 60 litres and 200 per cent for any extra fuel after that each month. Iran’s President Hassan Rowhani said the proceeds would allow his government to provide welfare payments to the needy. During the violence, dozens of banks, petrol pumps and police stations were torched across Iran. Officials have confirmed five people were killed, despite the toll from Amnesty and UN fears that dozens had died. Authorities say they arrested 180 ringleaders. Officials say the demonstrations turned violent because of the intervention of “thugs” backed by royalists and Iran’s arch-enemies – the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia. In central Tehran on Monday, supporters of Iran’s government filled Enghelab (Revolution) Square Tehran for a massive rally. Waving the Iranian flag and banners that read “Death to America”, government supporters descended on the square from all directions. “Countries like America, Israel or Saudi Arabia... don’t want to see us make progress, develop and have security,” said a housewife at Monday’s rally. “We support our leader and, for these reasons, they tried to put a spoke in our wheel,” she said. Long-fraught links between Tehran and Washington plunged to a new low in May last year when the US unilaterally withdrew from an international accord that gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. On the eve of Monday’s rally, an SMS had been sent to citizens urging them to attend the demonstration, amid an ongoing internet outage imposed during the unrest. The near-total internet blackout came at the height of the street unrest in a step seen as aimed at curbing the spread of videos of the violence. Iran marks 40 years since US embassy takeover with flag-burning rally Connectivity has returned to much of the country except for its mobile telephone networks, said NetBlocks, a site that monitors internet disruptions. The total number of people detained remains unclear, but the UN human rights office put it at more than 1,000 last Tuesday. Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander in chief of the Guards, warned Sunday that Iran would severely punish “mercenaries” arrested over the violence. Iran has blamed the unrest on the Pahlavi royal family ousted in the 1979 Islamic Revolution and armed opposition group the People’s Mujahedeen of Iran, which it considers a “terrorist” cult. Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, DPA