Iran unrest turns deadly
Four killed in new wave of protests as president urges calm
TeHeraN: Four people died overnight in fresh unrest in Iran, local media reported, despite President Hassan Rouhani calling for calm and vowing more “space for criticism” in a bid to head off days of protest.
Two people were shot dead in the southwestern town of Izeh yesterday, a local lawmaker said, as videos on social media showed demonstrations hitting many areas across the country for a fourth night.
“People of Izeh, like some other cities, held a protest against economic problems and unfortunately, it led to the killing of two people and injuries to some others,” Hedayatollah Khademi, the local MP, told the Ilna news agency, adding that it was unclear who fired the shots.
The state broadcaster said two others died in the small western town of Dorud when they were hit by a fire engine stolen by protesters, and Ilna reported that a school for clergy as well as several government buildings were torched in the northwestern town of Takestan.
Rouhani finally broke his silence on Sunday night about the protests that marked the biggest test for the regime since mass demonstrations in 2009.
“The people are absolutely free in expressing their criticism and even protests,” Rouhani said in a message on the state broadcaster.
“But criticism is different from violence and destroying public property.”
Police used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a small protest in Teheran’s Enghelab Square on Sunday evening, according to unverified social media videos.
There were also reports of pro- tests in the cities of Kermanshah, Khorramabad, Shahinshahr and Toyserkan in the west, as well as Zanjan in north Iran.
More than 400 people have been arrested in the four days of protest across Iran.
Verifying reports remained challenging due to travel restrictions and sporadic blocks on mobile Internet and social media sites.
The protests began as demonstrations against economic conditions in Iran’s second largest city Mashhad on Thursday, but quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a whole, with thousands marching in towns across Iran to chants of “Death to the dictator”.
Rouhani sought a conciliatory tone, saying that government bodies “should provide space for legal criticism and protest” and calling for greater transparency and a more balanced media.
US President Donald Trump, a fierce critic of Teheran, said the “big protests” showed that people “were getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism”.
He accused Iran of “numerous violations of human rights”, adding that it “has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!”
However, Rouhani dismissed Trump’s comments.
“This man, who today in America wants to sympathise with our people, has forgotten that a few months ago he called the nation of Iran terrorist.”
After initial silence, state media began showing some footage of the demonstrations on Sunday, focusing on young men attacking banks and vehicles, an attack on a town hall in Teheran, and images of a man burning the Iranian flag.
“Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behaviour and pay the price,” Interior Minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli said on Sunday.