Demonstrators rallied in the capital Tehran and the cities of Tabriz, Sari and
Kerman to denounce violence by those who infiltrated peaceful protests to turn
them into scenes of confrontation and attack on public property. They carried national flags which
had been burnt by some rioters in recent days as well as placards denouncing
foreign support for the unrest as they shouted slogans against the US, Israel
and Saudi Arabia.
Peaceful protests against recent price hikes and the overall economic conditions
last Thursday degenerated into violent melee by certain elements who were
armed at times, running amok in a few towns. The turmoil marked rioters leading
fire engines in one city into the crowd of people, killing two bystanders, and
attacking a police station elsewhere.Over a dozen people were killed in the
turmoil, including police.
According to officials, some of the fatalities came even as security forces did
not fire a single bullet. They said some rioters used shotguns and pistols to
attack police and fire at the crowd of protesters. It also marked vociferous
support expressed by US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu for rioters in a spate of tweets which drew condemnation from
several governments and Western media."A voice that speaks on behalf of Trump
and Netanyahu does not belong to the [Iranian] nation,” Tehran Friday Prayers
leader Seyyed Ahmad Khatami told worshipers ahead of the rallies.
According to Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, no more than 42,000
people participated in the riots in total but the events received extensive
coverage in US and Arab media, with Washington pushing for an emergency UN
Security Council meeting on Friday. Khatami said the riots were financed by
Saudi Arabia and planned by the United States, adding that there had been plans
to send arms to the country to overthrow the Islamic establishment.
The cleric said the initial protesters were rightful and that their voice should
not have got lost in the melee.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said people are free to criticize and hold
protests to express their views according to law, but the manner of expressing
criticism must help improve Iran’s conditions.
Source: Press TV