• About Us
  • Who Are We
  • Work With Us
Thursday, May 26, 2022
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Globe Post
39 °f
New York
44 ° Fri
46 ° Sat
40 ° Sun
41 ° Mon
No Result
View All Result
The Globe Post
No Result
View All Result
Home Featured

Iranian Authorities Cut Social Media Access as Unrest Turns Deadly

Staff Writer by Staff Writer
12/31/17
in Featured, Middle East
Hassan Rouhani, president of Iran

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Russia in November 2017. Photo: Russian Presidency

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Iran cut access to social media on Sunday in a bid to head off further protests after days of unrest that saw two people killed and dozens arrested.

The interior minister warned protesters will “pay the price” as footage on social media showed thousands marching across the country overnight in the biggest test for the Islamic republic since mass demonstrations in 2009.

The spate of demonstrations began in second city Mashhad on Thursday over high living costs, but quickly spread throughout the country and turned against the Islamic system as a whole, with slogans such as “Death to the dictator.”

Lorestan province Deputy Governor Habibollah Khojastehpour told state television that two people were killed in clashes in the small western town of Dorud late on Saturday, but denied security forces were responsible.

There were no signs of major protests during the day on Sunday, though officials appeared to be bracing for unrest after dark.

In an apparent attempt to stave off more unrest, the authorities began blocking access to photo sharing and online messaging services on mobile phones, including Telegram, which the government accused of being used to foment violence, local media and Telegram’s CEO said.

After an initial silence, state media has begun showing footage of unrest, focusing on young men violently targeting 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.

U.S. President Donald Trump said the “big protests” showed people “were getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism.”

“Looks like they will not take it any longer,” he wrote on Twitter, warning that Washington is “watching very closely for human rights violations!”

British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson said he was “watching events in Iran with concern.”

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 Mr. Trump.

“Sedition, unrest and chaos are different from gatherings and peaceful protests to pursue people’s livelihoods,” he said.

But there have been reminders of the continued support for the regime among conservative sections of society, with pro-regime students holding another day of demonstrations at the University of Tehran on Sunday.

They had outnumbered protesters at the university the day before, although online videos showed significant protests around parts of central Tehran later in the evening.

The total number of arrests from the protests around the country remained unclear.

An official in Arak, around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Tehran, said 80 people had been detained there overnight.

Police have so far taken a relatively soft approach to the unrest, and there has been no sign that the powerful Revolutionary Guards have yet been deployed.

Iranian authorities have blamed external forces for fomenting the protests, saying the majority of social media reports were emanating from regional rival Saudi Arabia or exile groups based in Europe.

President Hassan Rouhani has so far not made any statement since the protests started.

He came to power in 2013 promising to mend the economy and ease social tensions, but anger over high living costs and a 12-percent unemployment rate have left many feeling that progress is too slow.

Unemployment is particularly high among young people, who have grown up in a less restrictive environment and are generally considered less deferential to authority.

“Rouhani has run an austerity budget since 2013 with the idea that it’s a tough but necessary pill to swallow to manage inflation and currency problems and try to improve Iran’s attractiveness for investment,” said Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, founder of the Europe-Iran Forum.

“But choosing years of austerity immediately after a very tough period of sanctions is bound to test people’s patience,” he told AFP.

Since the ruthless repression of the 2009 protests against a disputed presidential election that gave hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad a second term, many middle-class Iranians have abandoned hope of securing change from the streets.

But low-level strikes and demonstrations have continued, with bus drivers, teachers and factory workers protesting against unpaid wages and poor conditions.

ShareTweet
Staff Writer

Staff Writer

With Contributions by AFP

Related Posts

Iranian flag
Democracy at Risk

HRW Urges Iran to Release Teachers Arrested in Crackdown

by Staff Writer
May 6, 2022
Morad Tahbaz
Middle East

Environmentalist Held in Iran Ends ‘Hunger Strike’: Daughter

by Staff Writer
March 29, 2022
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri
Middle East

Iran: Nuclear Deal ‘Within Reach’ If West Shows Goodwill, Ball in US Court

by Staff Writer
December 2, 2021
Pen America Gala 2021
Democracy at Risk

PEN America Honors Imprisoned Iranian Writers at 2021 Gala

by Staff Writer
October 6, 2021
Majid Tafreshi
Middle East

Iran Seeking to Cut Executions of Child Offenders to Zero

by Staff Writer
July 6, 2021
Iran street
Middle East

Political Prisoner ‘Unfit’ for Jail Dies in Iran: Activists

by Staff Writer
June 8, 2021
Next Post
Hamdullah Mohib Afghanistan Afghan security forces Taliban civilian casualties

Ambassador: Taliban is 'Absolutely Not Winning' in Afghanistan

Iran Rouhani protests riots

At Least 12 Dead in Iran Unrest as Protests Spread to More Cities

Recommended

The Onion

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens’

May 25, 2022
police line

Teen Gunman Kills 15 at Texas Elementary School

May 24, 2022
refugees

More Than 100 Million People Forcibly Displaced, UN Says

May 23, 2022
Volkswagen logo

German Farmer Sues Volkswagen Over CO2 Emissions

May 20, 2022
Vladimir Putin

Russia Says Economy Grew 3.5 Percent in First Quarter

May 18, 2022
Mexico missing people

Over 100,000 People Reported Missing in Mexico, Data Reveals

May 17, 2022

Opinion

A Lebanese election official stands at a polling station

New Group Threatens Lebanese Elections… and Potentially Middle East Peace

May 18, 2022
A man holding a gun

Safely Back in USA, Land of Guns and Burgers

May 2, 2022
China Muslim Uyghurs

Unfair Politicization, Corruption, and the Death of Modern Olympism

April 23, 2022
Ukraine war

The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis and the Hierarchies of Western Compassion

April 20, 2022
Chinese leader Xi Jinping

How Wrong ‘How China Can End the War in Ukraine’ Is

April 1, 2022
Ukraine children

The War for Ukraine’s Lives and Minds

March 30, 2022
Facebook Twitter

Newsletter

Do you like our reporting?
SUBSCRIBE

About Us

The Globe Post

The Globe Post is part of Globe Post Media, a U.S. digital news organization that is publishing the world's best targeted news sites.

submit oped

© 2018 The Globe Post

No Result
View All Result
  • National
  • World
  • Business
  • Interviews
  • Lifestyle
  • Democracy at Risk
    • Media Freedom
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Columns
    • Book Reviews
    • Stage
  • Submit Op-ed

© 2018 The Globe Post