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Iran Holds Annual Pro-Government Rallies After Economic Protests Iran Holds Pro-Government Rallies After Economic Protests
(35 minutes later)
Thousands of pro-government demonstrators rallied in Tehran on Saturday in support of Iran’s leaders, days after unauthorized protests broke out over declining economic conditions in the country. Thousands of pro-government demonstrators rallied in Tehran on Saturday in support of Iran’s leaders, days after unauthorized protests broke out over declining economic conditions in the country and dozens of people were arrested.
About 4,000 people took part in the annual demonstration in the capital on Saturday, state media reported. The rally observes the eighth anniversary of nationwide pro-government demonstrations surrounding the disputed re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2009. About 4,000 people took part in the annual demonstration in the capital, state media reported. The rally commemorated pro-government counter-demonstrations against those who challenged the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2009.
The results set off eight months of street protests, with three million people pouring into the streets in the early days. Pro-reform groups, including the grass-roots group Green Movement, had said the vote was rigged. But a crackdown led by the Revolutionary Guards’ security forces squelched the demonstrations. Every year since, pro-government rallies have been held. The results had set off eight months of street protests, with three million people pouring into the streets in the early days. Pro-reform groups, including the grass-roots Green Movement, said the vote had been rigged.
State television stations on Saturday showed marchers carrying banners in support of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. Typically, pro-government demonstrations are orchestrated by the state, and many of those attending would be bused in. State television stations on Saturday showed marchers carrying banners in support of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Mashhad, Iran’s second-largest city. Typically, pro-government demonstrations are orchestrated by the state, and many of those attending are bused in.
The marches occurred two days after images on social media showed clashes between security forces and demonstrators during the unauthorized demonstrations, the largest wave of protests since the pro-reform unrest of 2009. The pro-government rally on Saturday took on added significance after unauthorized demonstrations erupted on Thursday in major cities over the rise in the price of food supplies — the largest protest since the pro-reform unrest of 2009.
While scattered economic protests have occurred in the past, overtly political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent. Overtly political demonstrations are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent.
The semiofficial Iranian Labor News Agency quoted Mohsen Nasj-Hamedani, Tehran’s deputy governor-general for security affairs, as saying that “a number of protesters” were arrested in Tehran on Friday after “an illegal call” for a rally. Interior Minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli urged Iranians on Saturday “not to participate in these illegal gatherings as they will create problems for themselves and other citizens,” according to the BBC.
Mr. Hamedani warned that “such gatherings will be firmly dealt with by the police.” The Revolutionary Guards, which along with its Basij militia spearheaded a crackdown against protesters in 2009, said in a statement carried by state news media on Saturday that Iran “will not allow the country to be hurt.”
The Revolutionary Guards, which along with its Basij militia spearheaded a crackdown against protesters in 2009, said in a statement carried by state news media on Saturday that there were efforts to repeat that year’s unrest, but warned that Iran “will not allow the country to be hurt.” President Trump tweeted support overnight for the protesters, saying the government should respect the people’s right to express themselves.
Some social media users called for more antigovernment rallies in Tehran and other cities later Saturday. But the government called for an end to “illegal” gatherings. The Associated Press reported that hundreds of students had joined a protest at Tehran University on Saturday, citing witnesses who said they had seen a mass of riot police officers at the gates of the university. Some nearby streets were blocked off.
President Trump tweeted support for the protesters who had turned out in major Iranian cities, saying the government should respect the people’s right to express themselves.
“The world is watching!” Mr. Trump said.“The world is watching!” Mr. Trump said.
The State Department also expressed support for the protesters. “The United States strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters,” it said in a statement. “We urge all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption.” A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahram Qassemi, condemned the statement by the president and another by the State Department supporting the protests as “meddlesome” and “opportunistic,” saying Iran would pay no heed to Mr. Trump’s remarks.
At the government-sactioned rally on Saturday, one demonstrator, Ali Ahmadi, 27, blamed the United States for Iran’s economic problems, according to The A.P. In a rare move, state television broadcast its first reports on the protests Saturday, acknowledging that some protesters were chanting the name of Iran’s one-time shah, who fled into exile just before its 1979 Islamic Revolution, according to reports.
“They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?” he said. “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,” a broadcaster was quoted as saying.
Some social media users called for more antigovernment rallies in Tehran and other cities later Saturday. The Associated Press reported that hundreds of students had joined a protest at Tehran University on Saturday, citing witnesses who said they had seen riot police officers at the university gates. Some nearby streets were blocked off.
President Hassan Rouhani won re-election this year on promises to revitalize an economy hit hard by international sanctions. But the cumulative effect of those sanctions and decades of government mismanagement have taken their toll on the economy.President Hassan Rouhani won re-election this year on promises to revitalize an economy hit hard by international sanctions. But the cumulative effect of those sanctions and decades of government mismanagement have taken their toll on the economy.
The nation’s unemployment stood at 12.4 percent this fiscal year, according to the Statistical Center of Iran, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Of a population of 80 million, about 3.2 million Iranians are jobless. Unemployment among young people stands at more than 40 percent. The nation’s unemployment stood at 12.4 percent this fiscal year, according to the Statistical Center of Iran, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. Of a population of 80 million, about 3.2 million Iranians are jobless.
The unauthorized protests began on Thursday in Mashhad, a city of two million in the northeast that is one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam. Iranians there denounced recent price increases in particular and the moribund state of the economy in general, according to local news agencies. At the government-sanctioned rally on Saturday, one demonstrator, Ali Ahmadi, 27, blamed the United States for Iran’s economic problems, according to The A.P.
Some shouted “Death to Rouhani.” “They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?” he said.
The unauthorized protests began in Mashhad, a city of two million in the northeast that is one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam. Some protesters shouted, “Death to Rouhani.”
Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, a reformist ally of the president, said that hard-line conservative opponents of the Mr. Rouhani might have galvanized the protests but lost control of them.Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri, a reformist ally of the president, said that hard-line conservative opponents of the Mr. Rouhani might have galvanized the protests but lost control of them.
“Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers,” state media quoted him as saying.“Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers,” state media quoted him as saying.
On Friday, the police dispersed antigovernment demonstrators in the western city of Kermanshah as protests spread to several cities. On Thursday, the police arrested 52 people, according to a judicial official in Mashhad.
State television said rallies were scheduled to be held in more than 1,200 cities and towns on Saturday.