Iran protests sparked by economy are now ‘nationwide’
Activists say protests sparked by economic woes in Iran have now spread nationwide in the Islamic Republic, signaling both their continued strength and intensity as they challenge the country’s theocracy.
Wednesday marked the busiest day of demonstrations, reaching rural towns and major cities in every state, although they were local enough for daily life to continue in Iran’s capital Tehran and elsewhere.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said that at least 38 people died and more than 2200 people were detained in the violence during the demonstrations.
The growth of the protests increases the pressure on Iran’s civilian government and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
So far, authorities have not shut down the internet or completely filled the streets with security forces, as they did to suppress the 2022 Mahsa Amini demonstrations.
But any concentration may appear to prompt action.
Meanwhile, the protests themselves have remained generally leaderless, but a call for protests by Iran’s exiled crown prince will test whether demonstrators are being guided by messages from abroad.
Activists said at least 37 protests took place across the country on Wednesday.
These included Shiraz, where online videos purported to show an anti-riot truck using water cannon to target demonstrators.
The state-owned IRNA news agency, which has been largely silent on the demonstrations, reported a mass demonstration in Bojnourd, as well as demonstrations in Kerman and Kermanshah.
Iranian officials did not provide any information about the size of the protests.
However, there are also reports of security guards being injured or killed.
The judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported that a police colonel suffered fatal stab wounds in a town outside Tehran, while the semi-official Fars news agency reported that gunmen killed two security guards and injured 30 others in Chaharmahal and Lordegan, Bakhtiari province.
Demonstrations continued on Thursday as merchants in Iran’s Kurdistan province closed their shops.
It remains unclear why Iranian authorities did not intervene more harshly against the demonstrators.
US President Donald Trump warned last week that if Tehran “violently kills peaceful protesters”, America would “come to their aid”.
Trump’s comments resulted in a new rebuke from Iran’s foreign ministry.
“Recalling the long history of criminal interference in Iran’s internal affairs by successive US administrations, the State Department considers the alarming allegations regarding the great nation of Iran to be hypocritical, aimed at deceiving the public and covering up the numerous crimes committed against Iranians,” the statement said.
As sanctions tightened and Iran struggled after a 12-day war with Israel in June, the rial currency fell in December to $1.4 million and $1 US.
Protests began soon after, with demonstrators chanting slogans against the Iranian theocracy.
