Damage to Tehran municipality property from recent unrest has been estimated at close to IRR30 trillion ($20.69mn), with most of the losses occurring in a single outbreak of violence, Iranian officials said, Mehr News Agency on January 14.

Rights groups and officials now speak in terms of at least several hundred people killed in Iran’s latest crackdown, while some media and opposition sources allege death tolls in the thousands, figures that remain impossible to verify under current conditions.

Mayor Alireza Zakani said the damage was borne directly by the Tehran municipality rather than private insurers, adding that the scale of losses would require a national-level decision on state support.

The official said the government would need to consider measures applicable nationwide rather than limiting compensation to the capital. Data on damages to private properties has not yet been released in the local press.

Municipal buildings were among the targets. Two local administrative districts were set on fire, including offices in District Three of Tehran’s fifteenth municipal zone, according to the comments. The official said parts of the main municipal complex had also been damaged.

Public transport assets were heavily affected. Around 89 municipal buses were damaged during the unrest, the official said.

Of these, 57 suffered damage ranging from minor to severe, with some rendered unusable, while the remainder were completely burned. The official did not provide a timeline for replacing the destroyed vehicles.

The official said the municipality had compiled a detailed list of damaged assets and would formally submit it to the central government. He described the events as criminal and said the scale of destruction was “hard to believe”, according to the broadcast remarks.

Beyond municipal property, the official said discussions were underway with the government to compensate for damage to non-municipal sites. He said religious buildings, shops and private homes affected by the violence would be included in compensation plans if damage was confirmed.

“We are following this up, and we raised it again in government this afternoon,” the official said, adding that meetings were being held to secure funding to cover losses suffered by residents and community facilities.

The UN human rights office has confirmed “hundreds” of deaths, including children, but warns that the true number is “likely much higher,” as security forces’ use of live ammunition, internet shutdowns and pressure on hospitals and families obstructs independent documentation and leaves recent casualty estimates highly contested and fragmentary.