Iran protests: At least 12 killed at unrest over petrol price rise

[MenInG]

Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it was rationing petrol and increasing its price. At least two people have been killed.

Prices rose by at least 50% on Friday as subsidies on petrol were reduced.

The authorities say they want to free up money to help the poor.

Iran is already suffering economically due to stiff sanctions imposed by the US after Washington decided to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

One person was killed during protests in the central city of Sirjan. State news agency Irna said there were clashes with police when protesters attacked a fuel storage warehouse and tried to set fire to it.

Several more people were injured.

A protester also died in the city of Behbahan.

Other cities were also affected including the capital, Tehran, Kermanshah, Isfahan, Tabriz, Karadj, Shiraz, Yazd, Boushehr and Sari.

In several cities, dozens of angry motorists blocked roads by turning off car engines or abandoning vehicles in traffic.

Videos posted online purportedly showed motorists in the capital, Tehran, stopping traffic on the Imam Ali Highway and chanting for the police to support them.

Another clip shows what appeared to be a roadblock across the Tehran-Karaj motorway, hit by the season's first heavy snowfall.

Under the new measures, each motorist is allowed to buy 60 litres (13 gallons) of petrol a month at 15,000 rials ($0.13; £0.10) a litre. Each additional litre then costs 30,000 rials.

Previously, drivers were allowed up to 250 litres at 10,000 rials per litre, AP reports.

The revenues gained from removing subsidies on petrol will be used for cash payments to low-income households, the government says.

The head of the Iranian Planning and Budget Organisation, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, said that from this month, 18 million families would get an extra cash allowance as a result of the price increase.

The new measure is expected to bring in 300tn rials per annum, he said on state television.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that 75% of Iranians were currently "under pressure" and the extra revenues from the petrol price hike would go to them and not the treasury.

How have fresh US sanctions affected Iran?
Iran has some of the world's cheapest fuel prices due to heavy subsidies and the fall in value of its currency.

It is also one of the world's largest oil producers, with exports worth billions of dollars each year. But it has limited refining capacity and sanctions have made it difficult to obtain spare parts for oil plants.

Sanctions were reimposed last year after US President Donald Trump abandoned the landmark nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

Under the accord, Iran agreed to limit its controversial nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for sanctions relief.

Since the US left the deal, Iran has been gradually stepping up its nuclear activity in breach of the accord, though it has consistently denied wanting to develop nuclear weapons.

The sanctions have led to a sharp downturn in Iran's economy, pushing the value of its currency to record lows, quadrupling its annual inflation rate, driving away foreign investors and triggering protests.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50444429

 

[sweep_shot]

Iran's Interior Minister has warned security officials will step up action against protesters taking to the streets over a new petrol policy.

Protests have erupted across Iran after the government unexpectedly announced it was rationing petrol and increasing its price.

At least one person has been killed and others injured in the violence.

Officials say the changes, which have seen prices rise by at least 50%, will free up money to help the poor.

Iran is already suffering economically due to stiff sanctions imposed by the US after Washington decided to pull out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Protests erupted hours after the new policies were announced on Friday - with fresh demonstrations on Saturday in some cities.

There are also reports that access to the internet may have been restricted, Reuters reported citing a web monitoring group.

Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli, speaking during an interview with state television on Saturday, warned that law enforcement and security officials will have "no choice" but to step in and restore calm if "illegal" actions continue.

Mr Rahmani-Fazli criticised a "limited number" of people whom he accused of abusing the public mood to create "intimidation and terror".

What is the latest with protests?
At least one person was killed during protests in the central city of Sirjan on Friday, officials confirmed.

State news agency Irna said there were clashes with police when protesters attacked a fuel storage warehouse on Friday and tried to set fire to it.

Fresh protests were held Saturday in the cities of Doroud, Garmsar, Gorgan, Ilam, Karaj, Khoramabad, Mehdishahr, Qazvin, Qom, Sanandaj, Shahroud and Shiraz, Irna reported.

Footage posted on social media suggest other people may have been killed on Saturday.

The semi-official Isna news agency reported that security officials have threatened to legally pursue social media users who were sharing footage online.

A statement, accredited to the Security Emergency Centre (SEC) of Iran's Interior Ministry, accused some users "rumour-mongering" and "spreading lies" about the protests.

The report also claimed that footage was being recycled from incidents in previous years to undermine public confidence and disrupt national security.

On both days there were reports of angry motorists blocking some roads by turning off car engines or abandoning vehicles in traffic.

Videos posted online purportedly showed motorists in the capital, Tehran, stopping traffic on the Imam Ali Highway and chanting for the police to support them.

Another clip shows what appeared to be a roadblock across the Tehran-Karaj motorway, hit by the season's first heavy snowfall. Other videos spreading online show clashes between security forces and protesters, and banks burning in several cities.

Some pictures appeared to show police stations aflame in the southern city of Shiraz.

Speaking on Iranian state TV, Prosecutor General Mohammad Jafar Montazeri blamed a "few disruptors" for the protests. He urged people to distance themselves from those who - in his words - want to show their opposition to the Islamic system.

He also accused the protesters of having "roots outside the country".

What are the new measures?
Under the new fuel measures, each motorist is allowed to buy 60 litres (13 gallons) of petrol a month at 15,000 rials ($0.13; £0.10) a litre. Each additional litre then costs 30,000 rials.

Previously, drivers were allowed up to 250 litres at 10,000 rials per litre, AP reports.

The revenues gained from removing subsidies on petrol will be used for cash payments to low-income households, the government says.

The head of the Iranian Planning and Budget Organisation, Mohammad Baqer Nobakht, said that from this month, 18 million families would get an extra cash allowance as a result of the price increase.

The new measure is expected to bring in 300tn rials per annum, he said on state television.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that 75% of Iranians were currently "under pressure" and the extra revenues from the petrol price hike would go to them and not the treasury.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50444429.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Burning a bank building by <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranianProtesters?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranianProtesters</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Behbahan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Behbahan</a>, capital of Behbahan County, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Khuzestan?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Khuzestan</a> Province, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iran</a>.<br><br>16th November 2019<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranProtests</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranUprising?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranUprising</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IslamicRepublicMustGo?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IslamicRepublicMustGo</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranRegimeChange?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranRegimeChange</a> <a href="https://t.co/7zg5FvDoEq">pic.twitter.com/7zg5FvDoEq</a></p>— Ahmad Batebi (@radiojibi) <a href="https://twitter.com/radiojibi/status/1195703127158272000?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[JaDed]

WTH? How do protesters think violence will help their cause?

I don’t understand how protests can be violent, thats not a protest.

 

[Markhor]

Turn your protests at those who are imposing crippling economic sanctions.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Should be fine, iran needs cash. The subsidies are still good.

 

[sweep_shot]

LONDON/GENEVA: As Amnesty International on Tuesday said over 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed in Iran over the past five days when the security apparatus was ordered to stamp out protests against the recent fuel price hike, the United Nations voiced alarm over the reports of casualties and cautioned both sides against use of force.

“At least 106 protesters in 21 cities have been killed according to credible reports,” the London-based rights group said. It added that “the real death toll may be much higher, with some reports suggesting as many as 200 have been killed”.

Iran has officially confirmed at least five deaths, including three security personnel who had been allegedly stabbed to death by “rioters”.

The UN rights office said it was alarmed by reports live ammunition was being used against the protesters and had caused a “significant number of deaths across the country”. But its spokesman Rupert Colville cautioned that casualty details were hard to verify, in part because of a three-day-old internet shutdown.

“Iranian media and a number of other sources suggest dozens of people may have been killed and many people injured during protests in at least eight different provinces, with over 1,000 protesters arrested,” he told reporters in Geneva.

Iranian authorities say some of those arrested have confessed to being trained inside and outside Iran and having “received money” to set fire to public buildings.

Mr Colville said: “We urge the Iranian authorities and security forces to avoid the use of force to disperse peaceful assemblies.” He also called on protesters to demonstrate peacefully, “without resorting to physical violence or destruction of property”.

AFP journalists saw two petrol stations in Tehran gutted by fire and damage to infrastructure, including a police station.

State television showed footage of rallies against the “rioting” held in the northwestern city of Tariz and in Shahre Kord, central Iran. “Protesting is the people’s right, rioting is the work of enemies,” they chanted in Tabriz, according to Fars news agency.

Also, the state television broadcast footage of masked young men clashing with security forces. In a video aired on Monday night, a man can be seen firing what appears to be an assault rifle as others hurl stones apparently at security forces in the western city of Andimeshk.

The Amnesty International urged the Iranian authorities to “lift the near-total block on internet access designed to restrict the flow of information about the crackdown to the outside world”. It said video footage showed that “snipers have also shot into crowds of people from rooftops and, in one case, a helicopter”.

Also on Monday, assailants killed three security personnel west of Tehran, according to local news agencies. One of those killed was identified as Morteza Ebrahimi, a Revolutionary Guards commander and father of a newborn child, while the others were members of a pro-government volunteer force.

It is the worst violence since at least 25 lives were lost in protests over economic hardship that started in Iran’s second city Mashhad in December 2017 before spreading to other urban centres.

Meanwhile, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, “The internet will come back gradually in some provinces where there are assurances the internet will not be abused”.

Netblocks, a website that monitors global net shutdowns, said internet connectivity in Iran was at four per cent on Tuesday compared with normal levels.

Iran announced the decision to impose petrol price hikes and rationing at midnight Thursday-Friday, saying it was aimed at helping the needy. President Hassan Rouhani has defended the price hike, saying the proceeds would go to 60 million needy Iranians. The decision also received the public support of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

While the US condemned Iran for using “lethal force” against the demonstrators, the Islamic regime hit back, slamming Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after he tweeted “the United States is with you” in response to the demonstrations.

Iran’s economy has been battered since May last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Iran’s judiciary spokesman, Gholamhossein Esmaili, warned the authorities would deal firmly with those who endanger security and carry out arson attacks. He also called on citizens to inform on “seditionists” who have committed acts of violence.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1517652/106-protesters-killed-over-past-five-days-in-iran-amnesty.

 

[sweep_shot]

The Iranian government said on Tuesday it will unblock the internet only when authorities are sure it will not be abused during violent demonstrations against a petrol price hike.

The Islamic republic has been largely offline since the internet restrictions were imposed the day after the nationwide demonstrations broke out on Friday.

“Many professions and banks... have faced problems, and we have been trying to solve this,” government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, quoted by semi-official news agency ISNA.

“The internet will come back gradually in some provinces where there are assurances the internet will not be abused,” he said.

“We understand that people have faced difficulties... but the bigger concern under the current circumstances is maintaining the country's peace and stability.”

Demonstrations broke out in Iran on Friday after it was announced the price of petrol would be raised by as much as 200 per cent in the sanctions-hit country.

At least five deaths have been confirmed in the violence that has seen masked young men set alight petrol stations, banks and other public property.

The full extent of the protests remains unclear, however, largely as a result of the internet restrictions. The outage has stemmed the flow of videos shared on social media of demonstrations or associated acts of violence.

Netblocks, a website that monitors global net shutdowns, said internet connectivity in Iran was at four per cent on Tuesday compared with normal levels.

“Sixty-five hours after #Iran implemented a near-total internet shutdown, some of the last remaining networks are now being cut,” it said on Twitter.

Iran's economy has been battered since May last year when President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from a 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1517645/iran-to-unblock-internet-once-abuse-stops-government.

 

[sweep_shot]

Iran's Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the enemy had been "repelled" in the country where dozens are thought to have died in violent protests sparked by a petrol price hike.

Demonstrations broke out in the sanctions-hit Islamic republic on Friday after it was announced the price of petrol would be raised by as much as 200 per cent.

"We have pushed back the enemy in the military arena. We have pushed back the enemy in the political war," Khamenei said in a speech aired on state television late on Tuesday.

"We have repelled the enemy in the arena of security warfare [...] in recent days," he said, adding that the unrest had not been the result of a popular movement.

"The recent actions were security issues, not from the people," he said.

"We have repelled the enemy."

State television, which rarely shows any signs of dissent in Iran, has aired footage of masked young men appearing to clash with security forces.

The United Nations called for restraint on Tuesday and voiced alarm at reports dozens may have been killed in the violence.

London-based rights group Amnesty International said more than 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed across Iran since security forces were ordered to "crush" the protests.

Iran's economy has been battered since May last year when the United States unilaterally withdrew from a 2015 nuclear agreement and reimposed crippling sanctions.

Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/1517830/khamenei-says-enemy-repelled-in-protest-hit-iran.

 

[sweep_shot]

Iran has arrested about 100 leaders of the protests against a hike in petrol prices, the judiciary says.

They were identified and detained in "various parts of the country" by Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards.

The announcement came as the US placed sanctions on Iran's communications minister for restricting internet access during the unrest.

Amnesty International says more than 100 people were killed during the protests which hit several cities.

Other sources say the toll may be far higher. Iranian officials earlier this week confirmed 12 deaths.

Iran's president on Wednesday claimed victory against an "enemy plot", saying that "subversive elements" backed by the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia were behind the unrest.

Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili told state TV on Friday that as well as the 100 protest leaders and prominent figures already detained, a "significantly larger number" had been identified and would soon be arrested.

How did we get here?
The protests erupted last Friday after the government announced the price of petrol would be increased by 50%.

The price of a litre rose to 15,000 rials ($0.12; £0.09 at the unofficial market exchange rate). Drivers were told they would be allowed to purchase only 60 litres each month before the price rose to 30,000 rials.

President Hassan Rouhani said the government was acting in the public interest, and that the money raised would be distributed to the country's neediest citizens.

But the decision was met with widespread anger in a country where the economy is already reeling as a result of US sanctions. They were reinstated last year when President Donald Trump abandoned the international 2015 deal with Iran on curbing its nuclear ambitions.

Iran's oil exports have collapsed; the value of the rial has plummeted; and prices of basic goods have soared.

Banks and petrol stations were set ablaze as protests spread across the country and demonstrators clashed with security forces.

What about the internet?
The government has blocked Iranians' access to the internet since Saturday, making it hard to gather information and assess the situation on the streets.

Authorities have said they are starting to return connectivity, but the internet remained mostly blocked in the country on Friday.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Washington was imposing sanctions on Communications Minister Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi "for restricting internet access, including to popular messaging applications that help tens of millions of Iranians stay connected to each other and the outside world".

"Iran's leaders know that a free and open internet exposes their illegitimacy, so they seek to censor internet access to quell anti-regime protests," he added.

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50520634.

 

[Markhor]

Wouldn't be surprised if there's a foreign hand in these protests especially since Iran has Saudi Arabia on the back foot in Syria and Yemen. Iran's enemies are becoming increasingly desperate and will trying anything for regime change.

That said, there are economic difficulties in Iran but these protesters should aim their ire at the idiot in the White House who withdrew from the nuclear accords when Iran was COMPLYING according to international bodies.

 

[minamino]

Is Iranian regime the worst govt in the world atm?

Propaganda machine. Economy going downhill. Tourism and other sectors non-existent. An autocratic government and from what I have heard, They have also shut down the internet for the past few months and human rights record is pathetic. The whole government dwells on the anti-American sentiment even though Iranian diaspora in the US is one of the biggest. Why does Pakistan want to have good relations with them?

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Propaganda machine. Economy going downhill. Tourism and other sectors non-existent. An autocratic government and from what I have heard, They have also shut down the internet for the past few months and human rights record is pathetic. The whole government dwells on the anti-American sentiment even though Iranian diaspora in the US is one of the biggest. Why does Pakistan want to have good relations with them?

USA sanctions dont even allow medicine imports into Iran, which is gainst UN rules. Cant blame them.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

USA sanctions dont even allow medicine imports into Iran, which is gainst UN rules. Cant blame them.

Hell, i cant even think of a successful country that the USA isnt friends with. If you are not they destroy you in multiple ways.