Protests erupt after fuel prices increase

Iran abruptly raised gasoline prices as much as 300% early Friday and imposed a strict rationing system, and within hours protests erupted across the country, with angry crowds calling for the ouster of President Hassan Rouhani.

The new energy policy appeared to be the latest attempt by the Islamic Republic to manage an economic crisis worsened by U.S. sanctions that have sharply reduced oil exports.

By Friday night, large crowds had gathered in major cities including Shiraz, Mashhad, Ahwaz and Bandar Abbas as well as in a range of smaller workingclass towns. In some places the protests turned violent, according to videos posted on social media showing riot police officers spraying tear gas in one confrontation and smashing vehicle windshields in another.

The protests in Iran were set off by economic anxiety, but some quickly assumed an anti-government tone. Iranians across political factions — both hard-liners and reformists — expressed fury on social media, saying the price increases would only hurt people and create more loopholes for financial corruption.

An announcement carried on state-run television described the changes as a way to help fund subsidies for about 60 million Iranians, or around three-quarters of the population. But the timing of the changes, coming without warning, suggests the government was worried there would be a backlash for increasing the price of gasoline in a stressed economy in which inflation already is running by some estimates at 40%.