Iran: Khamenei estime "justes" les revendications économiques des manifestants
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Saturday that the economic demands of the protesters in Iran were "just" but that the "rioters" should be "put in their place," on the seventh day of a protest movement.
The movement, initially linked to the cost of living, started on December 28 in Tehran, where shopkeepers closed their shops to protest hyperinflation and the economic slump, and has since expanded to include political demands.
At least eight people have been killed since Wednesday in clashes, including members of the security forces, according to an official count.
The Mehr news agency reported on Saturday the death of a member of the security forces, killed "with knives and bullets" in western Iran.
"Ali Azizi, a member of the Basij, was martyred after being stabbed and shot dead in the city of Harsin during a gathering of armed rioters" on Friday, Mehr reported, citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic.
The Basij forces are Islamist volunteer militias affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards.
The protests are affecting or have affected, to varying degrees, at least 25 different cities, according to an AFP count based on official announcements and media reports.
These cities, mostly of medium size, are located in western and southwestern Iran where damage and clashes have been reported.
Speaking to worshippers gathered in Tehran for a Shiite holiday, Ayatollah Khamenei deemed the economic demands of the protesters "just".
"The country's authorities acknowledge this, and the president and other high-ranking officials are working to resolve this issue," he said. "That is why the traders have protested against this situation, and they are entirely justified," added Mr. Khamenei, who has been in power since 1989.
"We are engaging in dialogue with the protesters (...) but it is pointless to engage in dialogue with the rioters. The latter must be put in their place," the supreme leader nevertheless affirmed.
Since the start of the protests, the government has been playing both on appeasement, recognizing "legitimate demands" linked to economic difficulties, and on firmness in the face of any attempt at destabilization.
The Fars news agency reported on Saturday that gatherings had taken place the previous day in several working-class neighborhoods of Tehran, a city of approximately 10 million inhabitants. Saturday, a public holiday, appeared calm, with nearly deserted streets in the capital amid rain and snow, AFP observed.
Flag burned
In Darehshahr, in western Iran, about 300 people threw Molotov cocktails, blocked streets and "displayed Kalashnikovs" on Friday, the Fars news agency reported.
According to the Tasnim agency, which quotes a local official, a man was also killed on Friday in the holy city of Qom, south of Tehran, by the explosion "in his hands" of a grenade he intended to use.
Iranian authorities and media do not necessarily report on all incidents in detail, which complicates the assessment of events. Videos of the mobilization flood social media, but not all of them can be authenticated.
In Karaj, on the outskirts of Tehran, "a few people burned the Iranian flag while shouting 'Death to the dictator!' and 'This is not the last battle, Pahlavi is coming back!'", Fars reported, adding that these slogans had sparked "protests".
The Pahlavi dynasty (1925-1979), pro-Western and allied with the United States, was overthrown by the Islamic Revolution.
These protests are, however, smaller in scale than those that shook Iran in late 2022 after the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a young woman arrested by the morality police for violating the strict women's dress code.
In 2019, protests also erupted following the announcement of a surge in gasoline prices. The demonstrations then spread to around a hundred cities, including Tehran, and resulted in dozens of deaths.
AFP
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