Pro-regime rallies due as US imposes Iran sanctions
TEHRAN: Pro-regime rallies were due to reach Tehran on Friday with authorities seeking to put the past week’s unrest to bed, as Washington slapped fresh sanctions on Iran and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting.
rallies across the province of Tehran after Friday prayers, building on huge pro-government marches seen in many other cities over the previous two days.
The US imposed sanctions to have been working on an illegal ballistic missile program, linking the move to the protests.
“These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said.
On the streets of Tehran, a heavy police presence lingered though there were no reports of fresh protests overnight.
There were some reports of small anti-government demonstrations in provincial towns, but these could
Iranian pro-government supporters burn the Israeli and US flags during a rally in support of the regime after authorities declared the end of deadly unrest, in the city of Mashhad on Thursday (Friday in Manila). as protests over economic woes and quickly turned against the regime as a whole, with attacks on government buildings and police stations.
The UN Security Council was set to hold an emergency meeting on the issue later Friday at the request of the United States.
Russia criticized the United States for calling the meeting and it remained unclear if other council members would try to block it via a procedural vote.
‘Putting out the fire’
Iran’s political establishment has closed ranks against the unrest, with even reformists condemning the violence.
But many have also called on President Hassan Rouhani to address the economic issues that drove the initial protests and parliament has already moved to block unpopular budget measures announced last month, including fuel price hikes.
“The people’s main demand now is for the government and problems,” Ali Akbar Velayati, an adviser to supreme leader Ayatollah ISNA news agency on Thursday.
The head of the army, General Abdolrahim Mousavi, thanked se of sedition”.
Interior Minister Abdolreza Rah taken part in the unrest nationwide.
It was higher than a previous of the Revolutionary Guards, but still far below the hundreds of thousands that took to the streets during the last major protest move
A US State Department spokeswoman said those killed and detained “will not be forgotten”, after the White House warned it could it holds responsible.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly tweeted his backing for the protesters, his most recent saying he has “such respect for the people of Iran as they try to take back their corrupt government.”