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Iran Holds Pro-Government Rallies After Economic Protests Iran Confronts 3rd Day of Protests, With Calls for Khamenei to Quit
(about 3 hours 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 and dozens of people were arrested. Iran’s leaders were confronted by unauthorized protests in major cities for the third straight day on Saturday, with crowds aiming their anger at the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and some demanding that he step down.
About 4,000 people took part in the annual rally in the capital, state media reported. The planned event commemorated pro-government counter-demonstrations against those who had challenged the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2009. The demonstrators first took to the streets of Mashhad, one of the holiest places in Shiite Islam, on Thursday. By Saturday, dozens of people had been arrested and the police had fired tear gas to disperse crowds.
State television stations 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. On Saturday night, the protests turned violent, with at least two demonstrators shot in the western town of Dorud, according to a series of videos posted on social media. At least one of the videos was verified by BBC Persian. It could not be determined who was responsible for the gunfire.
Pro-government rallies were scheduled in more than 1,200 cities and towns, state television reported. The protests, which erupted over declining economic conditions, corruption and a lack of personal freedoms, presented a serious challenge to the government of President Hassan Rouhani, who won re-election on promises to revitalize the economy.
The rallies took on added significance after unauthorized demonstrations — the largest protest in years — erupted on Thursday in major cities over the rise in the price of food supplies. The protests have shown no sign of abating, days later. On Saturday, the angry crowds turned out on the same day that an annual pro-government rally took place in Tehran to commemorate counter-demonstrations against those who had challenged the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as president in 2009.
On Saturday, Iranians in Tehran shouted, “Death to the dictator” and “Clerics should get lost,” witnesses said. Referring to the supreme leader, others chanted: “Shame on you Seyyed Ali Khamenei. Let the country go.” But the pro-government rallies, planned for 1,200 cities and towns, according to the state media, were overshadowed in intensity by Iranians in Tehran shouting, “Death to the dictator” and “Clerics should get lost,” witnesses said.
Some protesters burned a banner with an image of his face. Others chanted: “Shame on you, Seyyed Ali Khamenei,” using an honorific for the supreme leader. “Let the country go.” Some protesters burned a banner with an image of his face.
Video shared on social media later Saturday showed Iranians directly calling for Mr. Khamenei to step down, chanting, “Referendum, referendum, this is the slogan of the people.” (After the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic was established with a referendum.) Video shared on social media on Saturday showed Iranians directly calling for Mr. Khamenei to step down, and also chanting, “Referendum, referendum, this is the slogan of the people.” (After the 1979 revolution, the Islamic Republic was established with a referendum.)
“Young people are angry and frustrated, without a hope in the future,” said Nader Karimi Juni, a reformist journalist. “If they join these small groups of determined students, there could be a real problem.”
Overtly political demonstrations are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent, and officials called on the crowds to halt them.Overtly political demonstrations are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent, and officials called on the crowds to halt them.
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. The Interior Ministry 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.
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 efforts were underway to replicate that unrest, and 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 efforts were underway to replicate that unrest, and that Iran “will not allow the country to be hurt.”
Later in the evening, the police fired tear gas to disperse crowds protesting at Tehran’s central Vali-e Asr Square, a witness said.
About 4,000 people, meanwhile, turned out for the annual pro-government rally in the capital, state media reported. State television stations showed marchers carrying banners in support of Mr. 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 rallies took on added significance after the unauthorized demonstrations — the largest protests in years — began over the rise in the price of food supplies.
“Young people are angry and frustrated, without a hope in the future,” said Nader Karimi Juni, a reformist journalist. “If they join these small groups of determined students, there could be a real problem.”
President Trump tweeted support for the protesters, saying the government should respect the people’s right to express themselves. “The world is watching!” Mr. Trump said.President Trump tweeted support for the protesters, saying the government should respect the people’s right to express themselves. “The world is watching!” Mr. Trump said.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahram Qassemi, condemned the statement by the president, and another by the State Department supporting the protesters, as “meddlesome” and “opportunistic.”A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahram Qassemi, condemned the statement by the president, and another by the State Department supporting the protesters, as “meddlesome” and “opportunistic.”
In a rare move, state television broadcast images of the protests on Saturday, acknowledging that some people were chanting the name of Iran’s one-time shah, who fled into exile before its 1979 Islamic Revolution.In a rare move, state television broadcast images of the protests on Saturday, acknowledging that some people were chanting the name of Iran’s one-time shah, who fled into exile before its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Some social media users called for more antigovernment rallies in Tehran and other cities later Saturday. Pprotests spread to cities like Karaj and Zanjan, where a crowd tore down a billboard with a portrait of Mr. Khamenei. As some social media users called for more antigovernment rallies in Tehran and other cities later Saturday, demonstrations broke out in cities like Karaj and Zanjan, where a crowd tore down a billboard with a portrait of Mr. Khamenei.
The police fired tear gas to disperse a protest at Tehran’s central Vali-e Asr Square, a witness said. About 300 to 400 people had amassed there and chanted antigovernment slogans, according to the semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. On Saturday night, the messaging app Telegram closed the account of the Iranian channel Amad News after government officials complained directly to the company’s chief executive that the channel was encouraging violence.
The demonstrations spread to Tehran University, where about 30 students standing behind the fences of shouted at passers-by, asking them to join in the protest, witnesses said. The students chanted a slogan against both reformists and hard-liners: “This is the end of their adventure,” meaning the Islamic republic. The messaging app is widely used in the country and some analysts said the protesters were organized in part on the platform and others like it.
Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi, Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology, in a tweet urged the head of Telegram, Pavel Durov, to shut down the channel.
The channel was shut down, and Mr. Durov offered an explanation, also on Twitter, saying that Amad News had broken the messaging app’s rules against encouraging violence.
Early Saturday afternoon, about 30 students standing behind the fences of Tehran University shouted at passers-by, asking them to join in the protest, witnesses said. The students chanted a slogan against both reformists and hard-liners:
“This is the end of their adventure,” meaning the Islamic Republic.
The hard-line Fars news agency tweeted a response, saying that “opportunists are trying to raise unrest in front of Tehran University.”The hard-line Fars news agency tweeted a response, saying that “opportunists are trying to raise unrest in front of Tehran University.”
Security forces arrested a few people from a crowd of hundreds that had gathered on sidewalks in the capital. A cat-and-mouse game between protesters and police forces ensued, with some protesters throwing stones. Security forces arrested a few people from a crowd of hundreds that had gathered on sidewalks in the capital. Some protesters threw stones.
The protests were the first major demonstrations since the 2009 demonstrations, and they appeared to be steered by reformist politicians who had challenged the re-election of Mr. Ahmadinejad. The results of the vote had set off more than six months of street protests, with three million people pouring into the streets in the early days. The protests were the first major demonstrations since the 2009 demonstrations, and they appeared to be steered by reformist politicians who had challenged the re-election of Mr. Ahmadinejad.
Pro-reform groups, including the grass-roots Green Movement, said the vote had been rigged. The results of the vote set off more than six months of protests, with three million people protesting in the early days. Pro-reform groups, including the grass-roots Green Movement, said the vote had been rigged.
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. Mr. Rouhani’s re-election has emboldened Iranians seeking reforms. But his pledges to improve the economy have been hampered by the cumulative effect of sanctions and decades of government mismanagement.
At the pro-government rally on Saturday, one demonstrator, Ali Ahmadi, 27, blamed the United States for Iran’s economic problems, according to The Associated Press.
“They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?” he said.“They always say that we are supporting Iranian people, but who should pay the costs?” he said.
Mr. Rouhani won re-election this year on promises to revitalize an economy hit hard by international sanctions. But even as Iranians emboldened by his victory sought reforms, the cumulative effect of the sanctions and decades of government mismanagement have taken their toll on the economy. When the unauthorized protests began on Thursday in Mashhad, a city of two million in the northeast, some protesters shouted, “Death to Rouhani.”
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 Mr. Rouhani might have galvanized the first protests but lost control of them.
Tehran’s deputy governor-general for security and law enforcement, Mohsen Hamedani, dismissed reports that officials planned to impose a curfew in Tehran starting at 2000 local time, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
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,” the state media quoted him as saying.“Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers,” the state media quoted him as saying.
Analysts say that while the general discontent may spur more protests in coming days, the demonstrations may die down. Especially in the capital, where middle-class Iranians set the tone, many residents despise some of Iran’s leaders and have been hurt by the bad economy. But they fear insecurity and unrest even more, experts say. Tehran’s deputy governor-general for security and law enforcement, Mohsen Hamedani, dismissed reports that officials planned to impose a curfew in Tehran, the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
Analysts said that the general discontent could spur more protests in coming days, or that the demonstrations may die down.
In the capital, where middle-class Iranians tend to set the tone, many residents strongly disapprove of some of Iran’s leaders and have been hurt by the bad economy. But they fear insecurity and unrest even more, experts say.
“The middle-classes like me are scared of losing what they have,” Mr. Juni said. “They won’t join the protests, I think.”“The middle-classes like me are scared of losing what they have,” Mr. Juni said. “They won’t join the protests, I think.”