Iranians call for ‘death or freedom’
Iranians protesting the country’s strained economy gathered in Tehran and another major city yesterday for a second day of spontaneous, unsanctioned demonstrations placing pressure on President Hassan Rouhani’s government.
The semi-official Fars news agency reported that officials said around 300 protesters gathered in the western city of Kermanshah, the scene of a devastating earthquake in November that killed over 600 residents. In Tehran, fewer than 50 people protested at a public square.
Fars reported that the protesters in Kermanshah chanted antigovernment slogans such as ‘‘Never mind Palestine, think about us’’, ‘‘Death or freedom’’ and ‘‘Political prisoners should be freed’’. They damaged some public property before police dispersed them.
Police also arrested a small number of demonstrators in Tehran protesting price hikes and the president’s economic policy.
The security deputy of Tehran’s governor, Mohsen Hamedani, said that fewer than 50 people gathered at a square in Tehran, and that most of them left after a police warning but a few decided to stay on.
‘‘A few of them were temporarily arrested,’’ Hamedani said, without elaborating on the exact figure.
He added that if Iranians wanted to show their anger by amassing in large numbers, they should seek permission from the authorities first. Such mass protests without police permission are unusual in Iran, and those taking part face arrest.
The United States State Department released a statement strongly condemning the arrest of peaceful protesters. ‘‘Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos,’’ said State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert.
Many angry demonstrators had protested in cities across Iran on Friday, including the secondlargest city, Mashhad, over rising food prices and inflation.
Some footage posted on social media showed police using water cannons and tear gas to disperse demonstrators, but it could not be verified.
The head of the Revolutionary Court of Mashhad, Hasan Heidari, told Fars that 52 protesters were arrested in Mashhad over their ‘‘illegal’’ gathering.
A rally is also scheduled planned for tomorrow in Tehran to mark the anniversary of massive government-sponsored demonstrations in December 2009, which followed a crackdown and months of unrest after contentious presidential elections in June that year.
This latest wave of protests is placing new pressure on Rouhani as his signature nuclear deal with world powers remains in peril.
Rouhani’s government has faced criticism since his May re-election from both hardline opponents and disillusioned supporters, who had been expecting a broader economic recovery following the 2015 nuclear deal and the easing of international sanctions.
Households have been strained by rising prices of some key goods, while instability among unregulated lenders has also triggered unrest over the past six months.
Several provinces this week reported that the price of eggs had risen by up to 50 per cent, according to the semi-official Iranian Students News Agency.
The price hike was caused by an outbreak of avian influenza at battery hen farms, a government spokesman said.
Some protesters have also criticised Iran’s support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country’s civil war, in which Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guard has played a major role.
Iran’s senior vice-president Eshaq Jahangiri said yesterday that some political factions were using the economy as an excuse to attack the government, pointing to external influences behind the protests.
‘‘It seems that there is something behind this issue that must definitely be identified,’’ said Jahangiri. He added that social movements that started on the streets did not always remain under the control of those who started them.
In Mashhad, Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda, the leader of Friday prayers, who is seen as a close ally of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned that protesters should not allow their concerns ‘‘to become fodder for the foreign media, which wants to sow sedition’’.
A day earlier, Alamolhoda had said people had a right to be unhappy with the economic situation.