The White House ought to be impervious to the wave of demonstrably false stories in Western media about recent events in Iran, but it may be necessary to clarify some points. The protests began peacefully and were recognized as legitimate by the Iranian government. They suddenly turned violent when foreign and domestic terrorist actors entered the scene, so blocking communication among organizers of the rioters and terrorists was an imperative. As those cells are being wrapped up by our intelligence and security agencies, the internet and all communications are slowly being restored.

Media narratives have actively distorted reality and helped create an atmosphere that risks unleashing violence on an unprecedented scale in our region. If I had to guess, I would say violence was the precise purpose of this apparent misinformation campaign.

As black-clad groups of masked terrorists used rifles and handguns to infiltrate protests and mow down innocent demonstrators on our streets, reports emerged in various media claiming that big cities in Iran had “fallen.” Other reports alleged the continuation of widespread armed violence. In reality, the violent phase of the unrest lasted less than 72 hours. I acknowledged in an interview with Fox News that the death toll is in the hundreds, with a final tally to be released when the Health Ministry and hospitals are able to provide figures with accuracy.

The events of this month have differed from previous protests in one crucial respect. The U.S. president publicly warned that Iran would face consequences if protesters were killed. This message, intentionally or not, gave plotters an incentive to pursue a callous and horrific strategy of what can only be described as “maximum bloodshed.” The purpose was clear: to drag the U.S. into fighting another war on behalf of Israel. When even President Trump’s former Central Intelligence Agency director, Mike Pompeo, openly acknowledges the Israeli Mossad spy agency’s infiltration of street protests, this reality can’t be dismissed as a conspiracy theory.

From Dec. 28 to the evening of Jan. 8, Iran witnessed various scenes familiar in many other democracies: largely peaceful protests against economic reforms and the state of the economy, especially inflation, negotiations with trade groups, and limited, nonlethal clashes. Iranian police are trained and equipped primarily to manage unrest without firearms, and almost all officers on the ground were unarmed. But only hours after Mr. Trump’s announcement that he was considering intervention in the case of mass violence, our security forces were caught off guard by coordinated, large-scale armed attacks.

Gunfire targeted police and civilians alike. Officers were shot, burned and even beheaded. Public buses, hospitals, ambulances, fire stations, health infrastructure, chain stores and even mosques were deliberately destroyed to maximize casualties and impede emergency response. The majority of those killed were police officers and ordinary civilians. To put the shocking scale of violence in perspective, it was the equivalent of 600 law-enforcement personnel in the U.S. being killed in 72 hours. No government would sit idly by as its citizens were subjected to such unfathomable horrors.

Contrary to the lies being peddled abroad, all unarmed victims have been officially recognized as martyrs. This means that every affected family will receive full support, including the same compensation and benefits as fallen police officers.