Protests rage in Iran's southeast, amid crackdown call
DUBAI (Reuters) -Protests broke out in restive southeastern Iran on Friday, with demonstrators attacking banks, state media reported, as a senior hardline cleric called for tough measures against demonstrators across the country.
FILE PHOTO: A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by Iranian morality police, is seen in Tehran© Reuters/WANA NEWS AGENCY
The Islamic Republic has been gripped by five weeks of demonstrations that erupted after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month.
On Friday, police arrested at least 57 people, described as "rioters", after protesters threw rocks and attacked banks in the city of Zahedan, provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.
State television said up to 300 protesters marched in the city after Friday prayers. It showed banks and shops with smashed windows.
Videos posted on social media purported to show thousands of protesters chanting "Death to the dictator", a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and "Death to Basijis", in reference to the Basij militia which has been widely used to crack down on protests. Reuters could not verify the videos.
Zahedan is the capital of restive southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province which is the home of Iran's Baluch minority. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in a violent crackdown after Friday prayers in Zahedan on Sept. 30.
Zahedan's top Sunni cleric said on Friday senior Iranian officials had to take responsibility for the Sept. 30 killings.
"For what crime were they killed? Officials, the country's managers, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader (Khamenei) who commands all armed forces are all responsible before God," said Molavi Abdolhamid, a leading Sunni cleric, according to a video of his Friday prayers sermon in Zahedan posted on his website.
State media said at the time that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire.
Sistan-Baluchistan, on the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a hotbed of Sunni Muslim militant activity against the Shi’ite-dominated government.
In Tehran, hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said: "The judiciary should deal with the rioters - who betrayed the nation and poured water into the enemy's watermill - in such a way that others don't again fancy to riot."
"They have told deceived kids if they stay in the streets for a week the regime will fall. Dream on!," Khatami said in a Friday prayers sermon, according to state media.
Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for the unrest.
The nationwide protests have turned into one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution. Protesters have called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, although the protests do not seem close to toppling the system.
Videos posted on social media and said to be from northwestern Tabriz showed protesters shouting "Disgraceful!" at riot police who shot tear gas to disperse them on Friday.
Tabriz, Iran's sixth most populous city, is home to many from the Azeri ethnic minority.
Other online videos purported to show protests in the central city of Isfahan and in Tehran's Ekbatan highrise neigbourhood.
The activist news agency HRANA said in a posting that 244 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 32 minors.
It said 28 members of the security forces were killed and more than 12,570 people had been arrested as of Friday in protests in 114 cities and towns and some 82 universities.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that the White House was in talks with billionaire Elon Musk about setting up SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink in Iran.
The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent government restrictions on accessing the internet and certain social media platforms. Iranian activists say videos of protests have been delayed because of the curbs.
Separately, Germany issued a travel warning for Iran, saying there was a real risk of being arbitrarily arrested and sentenced to long prison terms, above all for dual nationals. Friday’s announcement raised the warning level for Iran travel, after Berlin strongly advised against it last month.
On Wednesday, an Iranian news agency said security forces had arrested 14 foreigners, including American, British and French citizens, for their involvement in the protests.
(Reporting by Michael Georgy and Dubai newsroom; Additional reporting by Riham Alkousaa in Berlin; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Nick Macfie and Daniel Wallis)
DUBAI (Reuters) -Protests broke out in restive southeastern Iran on Friday, with demonstrators attacking banks, state media reported, as a senior hardline cleric called for tough measures against demonstrators across the country.
FILE PHOTO: A newspaper with a cover picture of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by Iranian morality police, is seen in Tehran© Reuters/WANA NEWS AGENCY
The Islamic Republic has been gripped by five weeks of demonstrations that erupted after the death in police custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini last month.
On Friday, police arrested at least 57 people, described as "rioters", after protesters threw rocks and attacked banks in the city of Zahedan, provincial police chief Ahmad Taheri was quoted as saying by the official news agency IRNA.
State television said up to 300 protesters marched in the city after Friday prayers. It showed banks and shops with smashed windows.
Videos posted on social media purported to show thousands of protesters chanting "Death to the dictator", a reference to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and "Death to Basijis", in reference to the Basij militia which has been widely used to crack down on protests. Reuters could not verify the videos.
Zahedan is the capital of restive southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province which is the home of Iran's Baluch minority. Amnesty International has said security forces killed at least 66 people in a violent crackdown after Friday prayers in Zahedan on Sept. 30.
Zahedan's top Sunni cleric said on Friday senior Iranian officials had to take responsibility for the Sept. 30 killings.
"For what crime were they killed? Officials, the country's managers, the Islamic Republic's Supreme Leader (Khamenei) who commands all armed forces are all responsible before God," said Molavi Abdolhamid, a leading Sunni cleric, according to a video of his Friday prayers sermon in Zahedan posted on his website.
State media said at the time that "unidentified armed individuals" opened fire on a police station, prompting security forces to return fire.
Sistan-Baluchistan, on the borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, is a hotbed of Sunni Muslim militant activity against the Shi’ite-dominated government.
In Tehran, hardline cleric Ahmad Khatami said: "The judiciary should deal with the rioters - who betrayed the nation and poured water into the enemy's watermill - in such a way that others don't again fancy to riot."
"They have told deceived kids if they stay in the streets for a week the regime will fall. Dream on!," Khatami said in a Friday prayers sermon, according to state media.
Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to "foreign enemies" for the unrest.
The nationwide protests have turned into one of the boldest challenges to Iran's clerical rulers since the 1979 revolution. Protesters have called for the downfall of the Islamic Republic, although the protests do not seem close to toppling the system.
Videos posted on social media and said to be from northwestern Tabriz showed protesters shouting "Disgraceful!" at riot police who shot tear gas to disperse them on Friday.
Tabriz, Iran's sixth most populous city, is home to many from the Azeri ethnic minority.
Other online videos purported to show protests in the central city of Isfahan and in Tehran's Ekbatan highrise neigbourhood.
The activist news agency HRANA said in a posting that 244 protesters had been killed in the unrest, including 32 minors.
It said 28 members of the security forces were killed and more than 12,570 people had been arrested as of Friday in protests in 114 cities and towns and some 82 universities.
Meanwhile, CNN reported that the White House was in talks with billionaire Elon Musk about setting up SpaceX's satellite internet service Starlink in Iran.
The satellite-based broadband service could help Iranians circumvent government restrictions on accessing the internet and certain social media platforms. Iranian activists say videos of protests have been delayed because of the curbs.
Separately, Germany issued a travel warning for Iran, saying there was a real risk of being arbitrarily arrested and sentenced to long prison terms, above all for dual nationals. Friday’s announcement raised the warning level for Iran travel, after Berlin strongly advised against it last month.
On Wednesday, an Iranian news agency said security forces had arrested 14 foreigners, including American, British and French citizens, for their involvement in the protests.
(Reporting by Michael Georgy and Dubai newsroom; Additional reporting by Riham Alkousaa in Berlin; Editing by Angus MacSwan, Nick Macfie and Daniel Wallis)
By TZVI JOFFRE -
Anti-government protests in Iran continued throughout the country on Thursday night and Friday, with videos showing large crowds chanting and blocking roads in Tehran and initial reports indicating that Starlink satellite internet service terminals have been smuggled into the country.
Video shared on social media showed protests in Mahabad, Tabriz, Tehran and Isfahan, among other locations.
One video reportedly from Tehran showed a large crowd of protesters blocking a road and burning what appeared to be a dumpster, while another video from Iran's capital showed a woman chanting "death to the dictator" from a loudspeaker on the roof of a building, with an unseen crowd repeating the slogan.
Another video from Qom showed a man knocking a headdress off of a religious man walking through the city. A number of videos from throughout Iran also showed women walking in public without wearing hijab, with one video showing women eating at the Palladium Shopping Center in Tehran without headscarves.
Another video from Tehran published on Wednesday showed two women offering hugs to passersby with a sign reading "a hug for a sad nation."
Government continues to intensify violent crackdown on protesters
Videos shared on social media in recent days continued to show a heavy government crackdown on protesters, with security forces firing tear gas and live bullets towards residential buildings in multiple cities. One video showed security forces beating protesters with batons in Rasht in northern Iran.
The exact number of casualties remains unclear, but has been reported as over 240 by Iranian opposition-affiliated human rights organizations.
Related video: Iran without internet as 50 die in anti-Hijab protests; Elon Musk rushes to ‘activate Starlink’
Iran without internet as 50 die in anti-Hijab protests; Elon Musk rushes to ‘activate Starlink’
The Organizing Council for Protests of Oil Contract Workers reported on Thursday that over 250 workers in the petrochemical industry had been arrested amid strikes and protests in the past two weeks.
Moeen Nehzati, an Iranian who recently moved to the US to begin university studies, tweeted this week that the "crackdown in Iran is way worse than you think, even if you've been following the news."
Nehzati stressed that most news agencies are only reporting what they can verify, but a lack of reporters on the ground and Iranians fears of talking to foreign press make verifying much of the information about the protest nearly impossible. The Iranian student added that the casualty numbers are higher than being reported, but many of the relatives of those killed are unwilling to speak publicly or to foreign press.
Voice of America journalist Shahed Alavi tweeted on Thursday that a doctor treating political prisoners at the Evin Prison saw at least 20 dead bodies in a van after a fire tore through the prison on Saturday.
Internet access heavily restricted in Iran
Iranian authorities continued heavy restrictions on internet access on Thursday and Friday, with the widely cited 1500tasvir Twitter account reporting in recent days that the condition of internet access was even worse than it has been in the past month.
The internet restrictions have made it exceedingly difficult for reports and footage from the protests in Iran to be published on social media, meaning that the full extent of the ongoing protests is unclear.
On Thursday video and photos were shared on social media purporting to show Starlink satellite internet service equipment being set up in Iran, although reports conflicted on whether the equipment was set up in Ahvaz or Tehran.
Firouz Naderi, an Iranian-American who formerly served as the director of Solar System Exploration at NASA, tweeted on Wednesday that middle men were trying to sell Starlink terminals on the black market in Iran for $2,000-$3,000, despite about three dozen terminals having been donated for free with paid subscriptions.
Protests set to continue in coming week
Next week, Iranians will mark 40 days since the killing of Mahsa Amini, an important marker in Shi'ite mourning rituals.
Demonstrations will also be held in Berlin on Saturday in support of Iranian protesters.
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