Tehran: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will deliver a speech on “the terrorist actions” in the country, Iranian state TV reported on Friday. This comes at a time when protests over economic hardships continued around the country.
According to reports, Iran’s government had cut off the country from the internet and international phone lines on Thursday night. A demonstration organised by exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi drew large crowds to the streets, NDTV reported.
Protesters shouted from their windows and came out on the streets in the first major test of the crown prince’s influence, nearly five decades after his father fled Iran ahead of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
So far, clashes have left at least 42 people dead and more than 2,270 detained, according to the
US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
The unrest, which first erupted on Dec 28 with a shutdown at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar due to economic hardship and the precipitous weakening of the Iranian rial, has since snowballed into nationwide agitation against the clerical leadership.
Protests expanded
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as reported by NDTV, said “rioters must be put in their place,” in what is seen as a green light for security forces to begin more aggressively putting down the demonstrations. Protests reportedly expanded to more than 170 locations in 25 provinces.
Role of Exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi
Exiled Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi called on citizens to take to the streets — asking them to shout from their windows and march — a message that demonstrators appeared to follow despite the blackout. The protests on Thursday evening and into Friday reflected this uptick in organisation.
Iran’s state media has blamed “terrorist agents” of the United States and Israel for inciting the unrest, alleging damage to private vehicles and public infrastructure, including buses and metro property.