Tension in Iran as rival rallies inflame streets
Two protesters shot, teargas used on marchers
Mark Heinrich in Dubai ANTI-GOVERNMENT protests broke out in Iran for the third day running yesterday as separate state-sponsored rallies were staged to mark the end of unrest that shook the country in 2009.
State television showed a rally in Tehran as well as marchers carrying banners in support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city where protests over prices turned political last Thursday.
Mass rallies backed by the government were scheduled in more than 1,200 cities and towns — events held annually to commemorate the end of months of street protests that followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election as president in 2009.
At the same time, social media postings claimed antigovernment protests broke out for the third day in a row, including in Tehran. One video showed dozens of protesters booing after police announced by loudspeaker that any gathering would be illegal. However, the footage could not be authenticated.
The semi-official news agency Fars said up to 70 students gathered in front of Tehran University and hurled rocks at police. A social media video showed them chanting “Death to the dictator”, believed to be a reference to Khamenei.
Footage later showed riot police clubbing and arresting the protesters. A group of government supporters was also reported to have gathered at the university as police tried to disperse protesters. Authorities closed two nearby metro stations “until the end of the unrest”, reports said.
Another video appeared to show security forces arresting demonstrators in another part of Tehran, with protesters shouting “Let him go! Let him go!”
At least two protesters were shot by Iranian security forces in the western town of Dorud, according to a video posted on social media.
The video appeared to show demonstrators carrying two people. Marchers had been seen earlier shouting “Death to the dictator” against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The footage could not be authenticated and the gravity of the injuries sustained by the two protesters is not known.
Dozens of protesters also gathered in the western city of Shahr-e Kord. Social media footage appeared to show a protester being helped by his comrades after being teargassed.
Openly political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent. But there is considerable discontent over high unemployment, inflation and alleged graft.
Some of the new protests have turned political over issues including Iran’s costly involvement in regional conflicts in Syria and Iraq. Joblessness has risen and annual inflation is running at about 8pc, with shortages of some foods contributing to higher prices and hardship for many families.
Last Thursday, hundreds took to the streets in Mashhad — one of the holiest places in Shi’ite Islam — to protest against high prices. They shouted anti-government slogans with police arresting 52 people.
The United States condemned the arrests, with President Donald Trump tweeting: “Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching!”
An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman responded: “The Iranian people see no value in the opportunistic claims by American officials and Mr Trump.”
Last Friday witnessed the largest wave of demonstrations this decade as protests spread across the country.
State broadcaster IRIB did not cover the protests “after being asked by relevant bodies that the issue should not be reflected on state radio and television”, its website quoted an unnamed official as saying.
Iranian TV claimed most of those arrested in the last two days had been released, but did not give details.
“Enemy websites and foreign media continue to try to exploit economic hardships and the legitimate demands of the people in this respect to launch illegal gatherings and possible unrest,” it said.
The elite Revolutionary Guards and its Basij militia, which spearheaded the crackdown that crushed the 2009 protests, said in a statement broadcast on state TV: “The Iranian nation ... will not allow the country to be hurt.”
The protests are a wild card in the complicated political balance between President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who was re-elected this year as president, and his more hardline political rivals.
While the hardliners may have initially encouraged the demonstrations as a sign of popular discontent with Mr Rouhani, the protests have quickly expanded and taken aim at the core pillars of the Islamic Republic, including the supreme leader.
Mr Rouhani has made no public comment since demonstrations began. Some analysts believe he might try to turn the protests to his advantage by promising a more aggressive campaign against corruption in response to the demands in the streets.
Mr Rouhani’s leading achievement, the deal with world powers that curbed Iran’s nuclear program in return for a lifting of most international sanctions, has yet to bring the broad economic benefits his government says are coming.
Unemployment has risen to 12.4pc this year, up 1.4 pc, leaving 3.2 million Iranians jobless.