Tehran, Dec 31: Iran warned Sunday, that protesters will “pay the price” after a third night of unrest saw mass demonstrations across the country, two people killed and dozens arrested. Videos on social media showed thousands marching across the country overnight in the biggest test for the Islamic republic since mass protests in 2009.
They showed demonstrations in Mashhad, Isfahan and many smaller cities but travel restrictions and limited coverage by official media made it difficult to confirm reports. State media began to show footage of the protests Sunday, focusing on attacks by young men against banks and vehicles, an attack on a town hall in Tehran, and images of a man burning the Iranian flag.”Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behaviour and pay the price,” Interior Minister Abdolrahman Rahmani Fazli said on state television.
“The spreading of violence, fear and terror will definitely be confronted,” he added. Lorestan province deputy governor Habibollah Khojastehpour told state television that two people were killed in the small western town of Dorud late on Saturday but denied security forces were responsible. US President Donald Trump weighed in, saying “oppressive regimes cannot endure forever”. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders warned: “The days of America looking the other way … are over.” Iranian authorities have sought to distinguish anti-regime protesters from what they see as legitimate economic grievances.
“Do not get excited,” parliament director for international affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a tweet directed at Trump. “Sedition, unrest and chaos are different from gatherings and peaceful protests to pursue people’s livelihoods,” he said.
AFP