Massive protest erupted across Iran against Govt over weak economy, alleged corruption; 10 killed

Tehran, January 1: At least ten protestors were killed while 400 others were arrested who took part in demonstrations against Iranian government over the country's weak economy and alleged corruption. The protest against government and Iran’s supreme leader Hassan Rouhani began on Thursday last week in Mashhad which later spread across the country.

 

Notably, the protest against the government began on Thursday in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city over the country's weak economy and alleged corruption. The unrest then spread to Tehran, and quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a whole. Over 400 protestors were arrested across the country.

On Sunday, two more protesters were killed in the south west of Iran during demonstrations which took the count to ten. However, the government blamed foreign agents for the deaths and said that the protestors were gathered after a message was sent on the Telegram messaging app, which was partially blocked along with Instagram.

The protests, which began on Thursday last week over the country's weak economy and alleged corruption, appear to be the largest to strike the Islamic Republic since the protests that followed the country's disputed 2009 presidential election.

Iran’s supreme leader Hassan Rouhani made his first statement since the unrest began, saying people have the right to protest but urging them to do so peacefully. He said, "Criticism and protest is the people's right; it must solve the problems of the country and improve people's lives." "It is different from violence and destruction of public property," he added.

Hassan Rouhani has also hit out at President Trump's intervention in the protests after he released a series of tweets warning Tehran to respect freedom of speech. Meanwhile, Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said, "Those who damage public property, disrupt order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price."

Earlier, in 2009, Iran saw eight months of civil unrest when tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest Iran's disputed 2009 presidential election.