The story: A top commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has charged that the opposition protests in the country would have been quelled in days had the security forces opted against showing “restraint.” The statement comes amid a recent uptick in unrest that has so far reportedly claimed the lives of hundreds of protesters and dozens of security personnel. The latter has resulted in prominent conservative media calling for a harsher crackdown. Meanwhile, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has described the more than two months of protests as "too insignificant" to topple the Islamic Republic.

The coverage: IRGC Deputy Commander Ali Fadavi claimed on Nov. 20 that security forces could have ended the protests in less than a week if “restraint” had not...