More protests sweep Iran
Shows of frustration with government met by force; Trump tweets raise stakes
Anti-government protesters rally in Tehran, hours after an opposing demonstration by hardliners.
TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian police and plainclothes security officers mobilized Saturday to quell a third straight day of nationwide anti-government demonstrations that for the first time reached the capital, where the chants among protesters included: “Death to the dictator!”
The bold reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — the allpowerful leader of a theocracy that for 38 years has stage-managed street demonstrations and stifled public expression — reflected the depth of frustration driving the biggest show of public discontent that Iran has seen in years.
Anti-riot police on motorcycles broke up an unauthorized gathering of about 200 people at Tehran’s Engelab Square while authorities in the central city of Shahreh Kord fired tear gas as the government tried to keep the apparently spontaneous demonstrations from gaining momentum.
Witnesses said police detained at least 12 demonstrators and stationed water cannons near Engelab Square (Englelab means “revolution” in Farsi) after dozens were arrested in other cities a day earlier. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, cautioned Iranians against taking part in “illegal gatherings.”
At the same time, thousands of pro-government demonstrators took to the streets to commemorate the suppression of the last major street protests in Iran, in 2009, following the disputed re-election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The annual rallies had been planned earlier, but the choreographed chants of “Death to America!” took on added significance as a counterweight to the unauthorized economic protests.
The protests in the Iranian capital, as well as President Donald Trump tweeting about them, raised the stakes. The disorder also apparently forced state television to break its silence, acknowledging it hadn’t reported on the protests on orders from security officials.
“Counterrevolution groups and foreign media are continuing their organized efforts to misuse the people’s economic and livelihood problems and their legitimate demands to provide an opportunity for unlawful gatherings and possibly chaos,” state TV said.
The anti-government demonstrations that began Thursday in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city, have now spread to more than 10 cities and appear to be driven by frustration over a stagnant economy, official corruption and soaring prices for eggs and other basic goods.
As the rallies gathered steam, protesters — most in their 20s and 30s — also called for the release of political prisoners and chanted against both the hard-line Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani, a relative moderate who has failed to deliver on promises of economic and social reform.
Many analysts expected police and the government’s feared Basij volunteer militia to clamp down hard. Ahmad Khatami, a firebrand cleric close to the ruling establishment, called Friday for a heavy-handed crackdown against “anarchists who violate the law.”
But the security presence did not deter demonstrators in Engelab Square, near Tehran University. They chanted, “Death to this deceitful government,” and “We will die, we will die, we will take back Iran.”
Plans for further protests Saturday night and Sunday were ricocheting across Telegram, a widely used messaging app.
Trump tweeted out support for the protests Saturday.
“The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran’s people are what their leaders fear the most.” he tweeted. “Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching!”
It’s unclear what effect Trump’s support would have. Iranians are largely skeptical over his refusal to re-certify the nuclear deal and Iran being included in his travel bans. Trump’s insistence in an October speech on using the term “Arabian Gulf” in place of the Persian Gulf also has riled the Iranian public.
Earlier in the day, after a prior Trump tweet on the protests, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman lashed out, saying Iran “does not pay attention to the opportunistic claims by U.S. officials,” according to state media.