BREAD RIOTS LEAD TO REVOLUTION
Soaring bread prices spark protests and shop fires in Iran - IRNA(Reuters) - Soaring bread prices have triggered protests in Iran in which some shops were set on fire, prompting police to arrest scores of "provocateurs", the official IRNA news agency said on Friday.
© Reuters/WANA NEWS AGENCY FILE PHOTO
An Iranian man holds stacks of bread as he walks along a street in Tehran
The protests were triggered by a cut in government subsidies for imported wheat that caused price hikes as high as 300 percent for a variety of flour-based staples.
Iran’s official inflation rate is around 40%, and some estimate it is over 50%. Almost half Iran’s 82 million population are now below the poverty line.
The government plans to offer digital coupons in the next couple of months for limited amounts of bread at subsidised prices. The rest will be offered at market rates. Other food items will be added later.
There were scattered protests in a number of cities, according to IRNA, in which crowds chanted slogans against price rises and some shops were set on fire.
In total, 22 people were arrested.
"Despite attempts by provocateurs to incite protesters, the rallies ended with the intervention of security forces,” said IRNA, adding that calm had been restored.
The largest protest was in Dezful in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, where IRNA said an estimated 300 people were dispersed by security forces. It said 15 people were arrested for "trying to create chaos" in the city.
About 200 people demonstrated in Shahr-e Kord in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in western Iran on Thursday, IRNA said.
“The rally ended at the request of law enforcement agents to prevent thugs from exploiting the situation,” IRNA said.
In the first signs of discontent over price rises, Iranian media last week reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and disseminate videos.
While Friday's IRNA report was the first acknowledgement of the protests by Iran’s official media, videos uploaded by social media users this week have showed protests in Dezful and other cities chanting slogans against price hikes and the country’s leaders.
Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.
Wheat prices have drastically increased globally since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, adding to the cost of subsidies in Iran.
Iranian officials have also blamed the price hikes on the smuggling of subsidised bread into neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan.
The protests were triggered by a cut in government subsidies for imported wheat that caused price hikes as high as 300 percent for a variety of flour-based staples.
Iran’s official inflation rate is around 40%, and some estimate it is over 50%. Almost half Iran’s 82 million population are now below the poverty line.
The government plans to offer digital coupons in the next couple of months for limited amounts of bread at subsidised prices. The rest will be offered at market rates. Other food items will be added later.
There were scattered protests in a number of cities, according to IRNA, in which crowds chanted slogans against price rises and some shops were set on fire.
In total, 22 people were arrested.
"Despite attempts by provocateurs to incite protesters, the rallies ended with the intervention of security forces,” said IRNA, adding that calm had been restored.
The largest protest was in Dezful in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan, where IRNA said an estimated 300 people were dispersed by security forces. It said 15 people were arrested for "trying to create chaos" in the city.
About 200 people demonstrated in Shahr-e Kord in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province in western Iran on Thursday, IRNA said.
“The rally ended at the request of law enforcement agents to prevent thugs from exploiting the situation,” IRNA said.
In the first signs of discontent over price rises, Iranian media last week reported disrupted internet services, an apparent attempt to stop the use of social media to organise rallies and disseminate videos.
While Friday's IRNA report was the first acknowledgement of the protests by Iran’s official media, videos uploaded by social media users this week have showed protests in Dezful and other cities chanting slogans against price hikes and the country’s leaders.
Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.
Wheat prices have drastically increased globally since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, adding to the cost of subsidies in Iran.
Iranian officials have also blamed the price hikes on the smuggling of subsidised bread into neighbouring Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iranians protest over government price hikes
President Ebrahim Raisi visits a supermarket in Terhan as protests erupt across Iran against sharp rises in the cost of basic goods -
Agence France-Presse
May 13, 2022 — Tehran (AFP)
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in cities across Iran to protest the government's decision to raise the prices of essential goods, state media reported Friday.
Earlier this week, President Ebrahim Raisi announced a series of measures to tackle the country's economic woes, including changing a subsidy system and increasing the prices of several staples including cooking oil, chicken and eggs.
Iran's economy has suffered under stringent sanctions reimposed by the United States after it unilaterally pulled out of a deal with world powers on Iran's nuclear programme in 2018.
Official figures put inflation at around 40 percent.
Iranians reacted to the move -- which took effect on Friday -- with protests in several cities over the past two days, state news agency IRNA reported.
More than 20 people were arrested in the southwestern cities of Dezful and Yasuj, where protesters called on authorities to reverse their decisions.
Demonstrators in the southern city of Izeh attacked shops and tried to set fire to a mosque, the news agency said.
Protests broke out soon after Raisi's announcement late Monday of changes to the subsidy system introduced by his predecessor Hasan Rouhani in 2018, which covered several basic goods.
But he pledged that the prices of bread, petrol and medicines would remain unchanged.
To mitigate the impact of the price increases, Raisi said monthly payments of between $10 and $13 would be disbursed for each family member of low-income households.
- 'Horrible' -
But for some residents of Tehran, the allowance won't do much.
Azadeh, a 43 year old housewife, said the changes were "horrible".
"The new prices have limited my family's purchasing power for everything (...) prices of food items, fruits and other consumables have risen.", she told AFP in the north of the capital.
The price of cooking oil has almost quadrupled since Raisi's announcement, while the price of eggs and chicken nearly doubled.
Mohammad, a 40 year old private sector employee, said prices were rising "by the hour".
"How can people live like this?" he asked.
Following Raisi's announcement, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on goods, videos shared on social media and footage broadcast on state television showed.
The president visited one of the main meat and poultry distribution centres in south Tehran and a supermarket in the city centre, his website said.
First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber stressed that rising prices were a global problem not limited to Iran.
"Prices in the world have changed... the situation in the region has created problems in the prices of products and the prices of basic goods were set accordingly," IRNA quoted him as saying.
Iran's economic woes have sparked several waves of protests in recent years, most notably in November 2019 following an unannounced hike in fuel prices.
Iranian authorities said 230 people were killed in protest-related violence but experts working for the United Nations put the death toll at 400.
President Ebrahim Raisi visits a supermarket in Terhan as protests erupt across Iran against sharp rises in the cost of basic goods -
Agence France-Presse
May 13, 2022 — Tehran (AFP)
Hundreds of people have taken to the streets in cities across Iran to protest the government's decision to raise the prices of essential goods, state media reported Friday.
Earlier this week, President Ebrahim Raisi announced a series of measures to tackle the country's economic woes, including changing a subsidy system and increasing the prices of several staples including cooking oil, chicken and eggs.
Iran's economy has suffered under stringent sanctions reimposed by the United States after it unilaterally pulled out of a deal with world powers on Iran's nuclear programme in 2018.
Official figures put inflation at around 40 percent.
Iranians reacted to the move -- which took effect on Friday -- with protests in several cities over the past two days, state news agency IRNA reported.
More than 20 people were arrested in the southwestern cities of Dezful and Yasuj, where protesters called on authorities to reverse their decisions.
Demonstrators in the southern city of Izeh attacked shops and tried to set fire to a mosque, the news agency said.
Protests broke out soon after Raisi's announcement late Monday of changes to the subsidy system introduced by his predecessor Hasan Rouhani in 2018, which covered several basic goods.
But he pledged that the prices of bread, petrol and medicines would remain unchanged.
To mitigate the impact of the price increases, Raisi said monthly payments of between $10 and $13 would be disbursed for each family member of low-income households.
- 'Horrible' -
But for some residents of Tehran, the allowance won't do much.
Azadeh, a 43 year old housewife, said the changes were "horrible".
"The new prices have limited my family's purchasing power for everything (...) prices of food items, fruits and other consumables have risen.", she told AFP in the north of the capital.
The price of cooking oil has almost quadrupled since Raisi's announcement, while the price of eggs and chicken nearly doubled.
Mohammad, a 40 year old private sector employee, said prices were rising "by the hour".
"How can people live like this?" he asked.
Following Raisi's announcement, people rushed to supermarkets to stock up on goods, videos shared on social media and footage broadcast on state television showed.
The president visited one of the main meat and poultry distribution centres in south Tehran and a supermarket in the city centre, his website said.
First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber stressed that rising prices were a global problem not limited to Iran.
"Prices in the world have changed... the situation in the region has created problems in the prices of products and the prices of basic goods were set accordingly," IRNA quoted him as saying.
Iran's economic woes have sparked several waves of protests in recent years, most notably in November 2019 following an unannounced hike in fuel prices.
Iranian authorities said 230 people were killed in protest-related violence but experts working for the United Nations put the death toll at 400.
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