Saturday, May 14, 2022

BREAD RIOTS LEAD TO REVOLUTION
Iran media report 1 killed in unrest over food price hikes


AP , Saturday 14 May 2022

An Iranian lawmaker says one person was killed in his city during recent unrest over price increases in the southwestern Khuzestan province, semi-official ILNA news agency reported Saturday.


A customer buys bread in a bakery in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, May 11, 2022. AP

Ahmad Avaei, a member of parliament from Dezful did not give the name or gender of the person killed, or say how many people were arrested during the unrest.

State media reported Friday that Iranian authorities had arrested at least 22 demonstrators who had been protesting sudden price hikes of subsidized staple foods, 15 of them in Dezful. A firefighter was injured in clashes with demonstrators in a nearby city, Andimeshk.

The unrests follow Iran's announcement earlier in the week that the cost of cooking oil, chicken, eggs and milk would rise by as much as 300%, as food prices surge across the Middle East due to global supply chain snarls and Russia's invasion of major food exporter Ukraine.

State TV on Friday showed footage of demonstrations in the province that had deteriorated into violence, with protesters burning tires and leaving mosques and public property damaged.

Iranian lawmaker says one killed during protest against rising prices

A file photo shows Iranians walk past the branch of a local bank that was damaged during demonstrations against petrol price hikes, on November 20, 2019 in Shahriar, west of Tehran. 
(AFP)

Tehran
AFP
Published: 14 May ,2022:

One person was killed during a protest in southwestern Iran against a government decision to raise the costs of basic goods, an MP told Iranian media Saturday.

The authorities had announced Monday a series of measures to tackle mounting economic challenges, such as changing a subsidy system and raising the prices of staple goods including cooking oil and dairy products.

Hundreds took to the streets in a number of Iranian cities to protest the government’s decision, including in Tehran province, state news agency IRNA reported.

Iran has been reeling under the effect of sanctions reimposed by the US in 2018 - exacerbated by rising prices worldwide since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

“A resident of Andimeshk was killed during the recent rallies in Dezful in Khuzestan province,” local MP Ahmed Avai told the Iran Labor News Agency (ILNA).

The victim was not identified, nor were the circumstances of the death disclosed.

IRNA had reported Friday that more than 20 people were arrested during the demonstrations in Dezful and Yasuj further east, but made no mention of any casualties.

In the town of Izeh, also in Khuzestan, a number of people reportedly attacked shops and set fire to a mosque.

The imam of Izeh denounced the “insult against Islam, the Koran and the Prophet Mohammed,” IRNA said.

On Saturday, Izeh MP Abdollah Izadpanah told ILNA that three youths were arrested for “throwing stones at a mosque.”

Following the announcement of the new economic measures, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on goods before the price rises came into effect on Friday, according to social media images broadcast on state television.

Iran has seen several waves of protests over living conditions in recent years, most notably in 2019 after a fuel price hike.

In recent months, teachers have hold successive demonstrations demanding the speeding up of reforms that would see their salaries better reflect their experience and performance.

Read more:

Protests triggered by price hikes spread in Iran

Iran arrests at least 22 protesting sudden price hikes in foods

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