“Iranian authorities are using machine guns to shoot protesters in the streets.” — Donald Trump. Our verdict: False.

What we found

The evidence

• Background

  The report repeats Trump's claim that 75,000 protesters were killed in Iran and that authorities used machine guns, but provides no evidence of its own. [1]

• Contradicts the claim

  Independent reporting documents close-range gunshots and pellet guns but does not corroborate machine-gun use or a 75,000 death toll. [2]

• Background

  The UN Human Rights Council has commissioned a fact-finding mission into alleged violations during the protests, but the document gives no detail on weapon types or casualty numbers. [3]

• Contradicts the claim

  Human-rights reporting describes the use of rifles and shotguns by Iranian security forces, with no mention of machine guns. [4]

• Contradicts the claim

  Internal government figures and hospital tallies suggest a death toll above 30,000, well below the 75,000 figure Trump cited. [5]

What we could not confirm

• Whether any machine-gun use occurred in incidents that human-rights reports did not capture, given restricted access to protest sites in Iran.
• The exact date and context of Trump's statement, because the report repeating it carries no publication date.

How we checked

We looked at the report repeating Trump's claim, at human-rights investigations into the Iranian protests, at a UN Human Rights Council document, and at news reporting on the death toll. We compared what each source said about the weapons used and the number of people killed. We reviewed 5 relevant sources.