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Nine more reported dead in Iran as protests enter sixth day Iran's enemies to blame for unrest, says supreme leader, as nine die overnight
(about 4 hours later)
Nine more people have died in overnight clashes between protesters and security forces in Iran, state television has reported, as unrest in the country entered a sixth day. Iran’s supreme leader has blamed the Islamic Republic’s enemies for nationwide unrest, as authorities cracked down with increasing intensity on protesters, leading to nine deaths overnight.
State TV said six protesters were killed as they tried to storm a police station in the town of Qahderijan in the central Isfahan region. It also said an 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were killed in the town of Khomeinishahr, while a member of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard was killed in the town of Najafabad. All three were shot by hunting rifles, which are common in the Iranian countryside, the report said. None of the reports could be confirmed independently. “In the events of the past few days, the enemies of Iran are deploying every means at their disposal including money, arms and political and intelligence support to coordinate making troubles for the Islamic establishment,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said in his first comments since the protests began on Thursday. “The enemy is always looking for an opportunity and any service to infiltrate and strike the Iranian nation.”
It is estimated that 21 people have now died nationwide in unrest linked to the demonstrations, the largest in Iran since its disputed 2009 presidential election. Videos posted on social networks suggest riot police and protesters are becoming more confrontational. In a sign that the rhetoric is also hardening, Esmail Kowsari, a senior revolutionary guards commander, vowed the elite forces would crush those he said were disturbing the country’s security. In the event that the unrest continued, “the authorities will undoubtedly make a decision and finish the business”, Kowsari said.
Protests over the weak economy and a jump in food prices that began on Thursday in Mashhad have spread to cities across the country and taken on a political dimension. Some protesters have chanted slogans against the government of Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Another senior official directly blamed Saudi Arabia, Iran’s regional rival, for the growing unrest. Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, told a Lebanese Arabic-language TV channel that the number of messages on social networks sent online via Saudi Arabia showed the country was involved. He warned that Iran would retaliate with “an appropriate response” in due course.
The semi official Ilna news agency quoted a deputy governor of Tehran province as saying that 450 people had been arrested in the capital alone since Saturday. No nationwide arrest figures have been released by authorities since the demonstrations began. “Iranian people are sensitive about any meddling done by the Saudis, even to a greater extent than they are sensitive towards the US meddling,” Shamkhani told Al Mayadeen, which is sympathetic to the the Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
Videos posted on social networks on Monday appeared to show riot police becoming more confrontational. Protesters were seen attacking government buildings and shattering windows in an escalation of the unrest. The protests began on Thursday when opponents of Iran’s moderate president, Hassan Rouhani, gathered in north-eastern Iran to demonstrate over economic grievances. They then spread nationwide and took on more of an anti-regime dimension, including anti-Khamenei chants. An intervention by Rouhani on Sunday, when he acknowledged the discontent, has failed to quell the anger.
At least 21 people are now estimated to have died in the protests, the biggest since unrest in 2009. Such geographical scale has rarely been seen since the 1979 Islamic revolution. At least 450 people have been arrested in Tehran alone since Saturday – nationwide figures have not been released.
State TV and semi-official new agencies that used relatively conciliatory language last week are increasingly referring to the protesters as mobs who want to destroy public property. On Tuesday judicial authorities gave an ultimatum to protesters, threatening harsher sentences if the unrest continues.
State television said six protesters had been killed overnight as they tried to attack a police station in the town of Qahderijan in the central Isfahan region. It also said an 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man had been killed in the town of Khomeinishahr, while a member of Iran’s paramilitary revolutionary guard was killed in the town of Najafabad. None of the reports could be confirmed independently.
Observers reported riot police riding on motorbikes and wielding batons on the streets of Tehran. Similar scenes were reported in other cities.Observers reported riot police riding on motorbikes and wielding batons on the streets of Tehran. Similar scenes were reported in other cities.
Rouhani spoke with a number of parliamentarians on Monday but officials insisted the meeting was planned before the protests began. The president acknowledged anger over the country’s flagging economy, though he and others warned that the government would not hesitate to crack down on those it considered lawbreakers. A Tehrani man who drives a taxi for Snapp – Iran’s equivalent of Uber – told the Guardian that motorbike-riding security guards with batons had been out in full force in Tehran on Monday night.
“I was out at 8 or 9pm and the atmosphere was tense. In Tehran the riot police was unleashed near Vanak Square, in Enghelab Street, and in Naziabad,” he said. “I was in Vanak Square at 5pm and it was full of security guards.”
The driver said the protests were more widespread in the provinces than in Tehran because working-class people in the provinces were the most affected by Iran’s economic problems. “In Kermanshah [in the west of Iran] there was an earthquake recently and a lot of those affected are still living outside,” he said. “In Ahwaz, 30 years after the [Iran-Iraq] war, the situation in still bad.”
“The city of Arak has many industries and a lot of people are without jobs. One of my relatives works for a petrochemical company in Arak – they haven’t got salaries for a few months now, that’s why they’re out … Gradually people are getting fed up and raising their voice.”
A student of Tehran University, who spent Monday night in the campus, said people were worried. “They don’t know how this is going to unfold, no one knows how this is going to pan out – they are perplexed because it is happening in provinces.”
Rouhani spoke with a number of parliamentarians on Monday in a meeting that officials insisted was planned before the protests began. The president acknowledged anger over the country’s flagging economy, although he and others warned that the government would not hesitate to crack down on those it considered lawbreakers.
The scale and the speed at which the protests have spread across Iran has puzzled many in the country, including reformists who are critical of the political atmosphere but are wary of any move towards regime change.The scale and the speed at which the protests have spread across Iran has puzzled many in the country, including reformists who are critical of the political atmosphere but are wary of any move towards regime change.
Iran blocked access to social networks including Telegram and Instagram on Sunday, but insisted the move was temporary. Iranian officials appeared more conciliatory than in their handling of previous protests and acknowledged that some protesters have legitimate economic grievances. Iran blocked access to social networks including Telegram and Instagram on Sunday, but insisted the move was temporary.
It’s hard to overstate the power of Telegram in Iran. Of its 80m population, an estimated 40m use the free app created by Russian national Pavel Durov. Its clients share videos and photos, subscribing to groups where everyone from politicians to poets broadcast to fellow users.It’s hard to overstate the power of Telegram in Iran. Of its 80m population, an estimated 40m use the free app created by Russian national Pavel Durov. Its clients share videos and photos, subscribing to groups where everyone from politicians to poets broadcast to fellow users.
While authorities ban social media websites like Facebook and Twitter and censor others, Telegram users can say nearly anything. In the last presidential election, the app played a big role in motivating turnout and spreading political screeds.While authorities ban social media websites like Facebook and Twitter and censor others, Telegram users can say nearly anything. In the last presidential election, the app played a big role in motivating turnout and spreading political screeds.
Telegram touts itself as being highly encrypted and allows users to set their messages to “self-destruct” after a certain period, making it a favourite among activists and others concerned about their privacy. That too has made it a worry of Iranian authorities.Telegram touts itself as being highly encrypted and allows users to set their messages to “self-destruct” after a certain period, making it a favourite among activists and others concerned about their privacy. That too has made it a worry of Iranian authorities.
A channel run by an exiled journalist, Roohallah Zam, helped organise some of those who took to the street, including times and locations for protests, and was suspended by Durov after Iranian authorities complained that it was inciting violence.A channel run by an exiled journalist, Roohallah Zam, helped organise some of those who took to the street, including times and locations for protests, and was suspended by Durov after Iranian authorities complained that it was inciting violence.
Zam, who denies the allegations, responded by launching new channels to spread messages about upcoming protests before the government ordered the app shut down. Zam, who denies the allegations, responded by launching new channels to spread messages about upcoming protests before the government ordered the app shut down. 
The head of Iran’s judiciary, Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani, a hardline cleric, said: “Attacking mosques, public buildings, banks, is unacceptable.” He vowed that the perpetrators would be prosecuted. One of Iran’s most outspoken MPs, Mahmoud Sadeghi, said on Twitter he had urged the interior ministry not to link the protests with foreign powers and instead improve the economic situation, open up state television to diverse opinions and lift restrictions on regime critics.
Associated Press and Agence France-Presse contributed to this report A spokeswoman for the EU foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said the EU had been touch with authorities in Iran. “We expect that the right to peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression will be guaranteed,” she said.
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