Follow Us on Google
Three security personnel have been killed by “rioters” in Iran, the latest deaths in protests that showed no sign of subsiding yesterday, despite a wave of arrests and an internet shutdown.
A shock decision to impose petrol price hikes sparked the nationwide demonstrations in which officials say at least five people have been killed.
The United Nations expressed alarm on Tuesday “that the use of live ammunition has allegedly caused a significant number of deaths across the country”. The situation in the streets remains unclear largely due to the government-imposed internet outage now in its third day.
AFP journalists saw two petrol stations in Tehran gutted by fire and damage to infrastructure, including a police station. But they were prevented from filming as hundreds of riot police guarded squares in the capital with armoured vehicles and water cannon.
Rallies against “rioting” were held in the northwestern city of Tabriz and Shahr-e Qods, west of Tehran, Iranian news agencies reported. “Protesting is the people’s right, rioting is the work of enemies,” they chanted in Tabriz, according to Fars news agency.
When the demonstrations began on Friday, drivers stopped on major thoroughfares in Tehran to block traffic. The protests soon turned violent and spread to more than 40 cities and towns, with banks, petrol stations and other public property set ablaze and shops looted.
The demonstrations erupted after it was announced the price of petrol would be raised by 50 percent for the first 60 litres purchased over a month and 200 percent for any extra fuel after that.
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.
Footage of masked young men clashing with security forces has been broadcast on state television, which rarely shows any signs of dissent. In a video aired 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.
