Scattered Protests Erupt in Iran Over Economic Woes
A few others, however, remained despite being warned to leave," the news service quoted him as saying, and "a number of them were detained after arrest warrants were issued." The Tasnim news agency quoted Mr. Hamedani as saying
that no protest permits had been issued for Tehran and warning that "such gatherings will be firmly dealt with by the police." Hard-liners, including Mr. Hamedani, castigated the protesters, warning that Iran’s enemies would take advantage of any sign of dissent.
Qom said that However, the future is unpredictable and the regime has managed to crack down on more serious protests in the past decades.
"As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders are Iran’s own people." She added
that the United States "strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters." The protests began on Thursday in Mashhad, a city of two million in the country’s northeast, where hundreds gathered to denounce recent price increases and the moribund state of the economy more generally, according to Iranian news agencies.
"The ones who trigger political moves in the streets may not be the ones who will put an end to it, since others may ride the wave they have started, and they must know
that their action will backfire on them," the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Mr. Jahangiri as saying.
Ali Vaez, the Iran project director for the International Crisis Group, said it was possible
that hard-line opponents of Mr. Rouhani were behind the protests in Mashhad, capitalizing on anger about the economic belt-tightening and about rising food and gasoline prices.
" he said. that The trigger was apparently a protest
that the government’s hard-line opponents organized in Mashhad, which got out of control and turned into an anti-regime rally and is now spreading across the country,