DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian cities are “safe and sound” after a failed US attempt to recreate the 2011 Arab uprising in the Islamic Republic, President Ebrahim Raisi said. Iranian media reported on Saturday. Day 50.
Iran’s clerical leadership struggles to quell demonstrations that erupted in September after the death of a young Kurdish Iranian woman detained by morality police for defying strict laws on women’s dress. .
Hundreds, mostly protesters, have been killed in one of the most severe waves of unrest to sweep the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the US-backed Shah, activists said.
As Iranian officials marked the anniversary of the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran by militant students this week, President Joe Biden backed the protesters, saying, “We are going to liberate Iran. They will soon will be released,” he said.
Students and women are leading many of the current protests, according to unconfirmed video footage, with women removing or burning their veils in defiance of strict dress codes, and students taunting officials on college campuses. is doing.
“The Americans and other enemies have tried to destabilize Iran by carrying out the same plans as in Libya and Syria, but they have failed,” Raishi told a group of students at a four-hour conference on Friday, Iran said. reported to the news agency.
A popular uprising in Libya led to NATO intervention in 2011, leading to the overthrow and murder of Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi by rebels. In Syria, mass demonstrations against Iranian ally President Bashar al-Assad have faced force, engulfing the country in an 11-year-long conflict.
In contrast, Iran’s cities are now “safe and sound”, Raishi said, promising retaliation for the unrest experienced by the country.
“A riot or an attempt to disrupt the country is different from a protest. People who create riot and unrest must be dealt with,” Raishi said.
slogan, crackdown
Activist news agency HRANA said 314 protesters, including 47 minors, had died in the riots as of Friday. Approximately 38 members of the security forces were also killed. At least 14,170 people, including 392 students, were arrested in protests in 136 cities and towns and 134 universities, it said.
Some of the worst bloodshed has occurred in Iran’s tranquil southeastern province of Sistan-Baltistan, home to much of the Sunni minority in the predominantly Shiite Muslim country.
Moravi Abdulhamid, a senior Sunni cleric, said Friday’s crackdown on protesters in the southeastern city of Kas was a sign of the government’s actions against the Baluch, a minority living in a poor region on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. He said it was an example of discrimination.
“Should live ammunition be a response to slogans and stone throwing? Why are protesters treated differently in Sistan-Baltistan than elsewhere in the country, and why are protesters in this province being slaughtered without mercy? Yea?,” Abdul Hamid said in a statement. on his website.
Amnesty International said up to 10 people may have died after security forces reportedly opened fire on stone-throwing protesters and attacked government buildings.Read more
Dozens of university students in Tehran and Karaj, west of the capital, the northern city of Rasht and the northeastern city of Mashhad, staged protests on Saturday, chanting slogans such as “women, life, freedom.”
Reuters was unable to independently authenticate the footage.
The crisis has dragged Iran’s currency to new historic lows. According to forex website Bonbast.com, the US dollar was selling at 362,100 rials in the informal market on Saturday after losing nearly 12% in value since the protests began.
In an apparent effort to curb the depreciation of the troubled Iranian currency, the government on Saturday allowed online sales by currency dealers to make it easier for people to buy foreign currency.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Information said it would close the bank accounts of 2,300 people accused of involvement in the foreign currency black market and face legal action, state media reported.
Reported by Dubai Newsroom. Written by Dominic Evans.Edited by Andrew Havens
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