DOZENS KILLED IN TWO WEEKS OF PROTEST
The protests pose the biggest internal challenge in at least three years to Iran’s clerical rulers, who look more vulnerable than during past bouts of unrest amid a dire economic situation and after last year’s war with Israel and the United States.
While the initial protests focused on the economy, with the rial losing half its value against the dollar last year and inflation topping 40 per cent in December, they have morphed to include slogans aimed directly at the authorities.
Iranian rights group HRANA said on Friday it had documented at least 62 deaths, including 14 security personnel and 48 protesters, since demonstrations began on Dec 28.
The leaders of France, Britain and Germany issued a joint statement on Friday condemning the killing of protesters and urged the Iranian authorities to restrain from violence.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the United Nations was very disturbed by the loss of life.
“People anywhere in the world have a right to demonstrate peacefully, and governments have a responsibility to protect that right and to ensure that that right is respected,” he said.
The internet blackout has sharply reduced the amount of information flowing out of Iran and phone calls to the country were not getting through. At least 17 flights between Dubai and Iran were cancelled, Dubai Airport’s website showed.
Images published by state television showed what it said were burning buses, cars and motorbikes as well as fires at underground railway stations and banks.
Videos verified by Reuters showed hundreds of people marching in Tehran. In one, a woman could be heard shouting, “Death to Khamenei!”
Other chants included slogans in support of the monarchy, overthrown in 1979.
Iranian rights group Hengaw reported that a protest march after Friday prayers in Zahedan, where the Baluch minority predominates, was met with gunfire that wounded several people.
A video posted on social media purported to show demonstrators in the southern city of Shiraz chanting, “This is the year of blood, Seyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown”.
Other videos on social media purported to show protests late on Friday in the northeastern city of Mashhad and in several parts of Tehran.
Reuters could not immediately verify these videos.
Authorities have tried a dual approach – describing protests over the economy as legitimate while condemning what they call violent rioters and cracking down with security forces.
Last week, President Masoud Pezeshkian urged authorities to take a “kind and responsible approach”, and the government offered modest financial incentives to help counter worsening impoverishment as inflation has soared.
But with unrest spreading and clashes appearing more violent, the Supreme Leader, the ultimate authority in Iran, above the elected president and parliament, used much tougher language on Friday.
“The Islamic Republic came to power through the blood of hundreds of thousands of honourable people. It will not back down in the face of vandals,” he said, accusing those involved in unrest of seeking to please Trump.
Iran’s United Nations ambassador accused Washington of “destabilising practices” and blamed it for “the transformation of peaceful protests into violent, subversive acts.”
Tehran’s public prosecutor said those committing sabotage or engaging in clashes with security forces would face the death penalty.
FRAGMENTED OPPOSITION
Iran’s fragmented external opposition factions called for more protests and Pahlavi told Iranians on social media: “The eyes of the world are upon you. Take to the streets.”
“The sense of hopelessness in Iranian society is something today that we haven’t seen before. I mean, that sense of anger has just deepened over the years and we are at record new levels in terms of how Iranian society is upset,” said Alex Vatanka of Washington’s Middle East Institute.
However, the extent of support inside Iran for the monarchy or for the MKO, the most vocal of émigré opposition groups, is disputed.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday the chance of foreign military intervention was “very low”. He said the foreign minister of Oman, which has often interceded in negotiations between Iran and the West, would visit on Saturday.
Iran has weathered repeated past bouts of major unrest, including student protests in 1999, over a disputed election in 2009, against economic hardships in 2019, and the 2022 Woman, Life, Freedom protests.
The 2022 protests, sparked by the killing of a young woman in the custody of the Islamic morality police drew men and women, old and young, rich and poor onto the streets.
They were ultimately suppressed, with hundreds reported killed and thousands imprisoned, but authorities also ceded some ground with women now routinely disobeying public dress codes.