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Iranian protesters attack police stations, raise stakes in unrest

By Michael Georgy

 

Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in west London, December 31, 2017. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh

 

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian protesters attacked police stations late into the night on Monday, news agency and social media reports said, as security forces struggled to contain the boldest challenge to the clerical leadership since unrest in 2009.

 

Videos on social media showed an intense clash in the central town of Qahderijan between security forces and protesters who were trying to occupy a police station, which was partially set ablaze. There were unconfirmed reports of several casualties among demonstrators.

 

In the western city of Kermanshah, protesters set fire to a traffic police post, but no one was hurt in the incident, Mehr news agency said.

 

Demonstrations continued for a fifth day. Some 13 people were reported killed on Sunday in the worst wave of unrest since crowds took to the streets in 2009 to condemn the re-election of then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

 

The protests have put pressure on the clerical leaders in power since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. President Hassan Rouhani made a televised call for calm on Sunday, saying Iranians had the right to criticise but must not cause unrest.

 

In the central city of Najafabad, a demonstrator opened fire on police with a hunting rifle, killing one and wounding three others, state television said.

 

Earlier, state TV said armed demonstrators on Sunday had tried to seize police and military bases but were stopped by "strong resistance from security forces." It gave no further details and there was no independent confirmation.

 

State TV had reported that 10 people were killed in protests on Sunday. On Monday, that death toll rose when the deputy governor of the western Hamadan Province, Saeed Shahrokhi, told ISNA news agency that another three protesters were killed on Sunday in the city of Tuyserkan.

 

"NO TOLERANCE"

 

Hundreds have been arrested, according to officials and social media. Online video showed police in the capital Tehran firing water cannon to disperse demonstrators, in footage said to have been filmed on Sunday.

 

Protests against economic hardships and alleged corruption erupted in Iran's second city of Mashhad on Thursday and escalated across the country into calls for the religious establishment to step down.

 

Some of the anger was directed at Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, breaking a taboo surrounding the man who has been supreme leader of Iran since 1989.

 

Video posted on social media showed crowds of people walking through the streets, some chanting "Death to the dictator!" Reuters was not immediately able to verify the footage. The Fars news agency reported "scattered groups" of protesters in Tehran on Monday and said a ringleader had been arrested.

 

"The government will show no tolerance for those who damage public property, violate public order and create unrest in society," Rouhani said in his address on Sunday.

 

Unsigned statements on social media urged Iranians to continue to demonstrate in 50 towns and cities.

 

The government said it was temporarily restricting access to the Telegram messaging app and Instagram <FB.O>. There were reports that internet mobile access was blocked in some areas.

 

TRUMP, NETANYAHU VOICE SUPPORT

 

Iran is a major OPEC oil producer and regional power deeply involved in Syria and Iraq as part of a battle for influence with rival Saudi Arabia.

 

Many Iranians resent those foreign interventions, and want their leaders to create jobs at home, where youth unemployment reached 28.8 percent last year.

 

Among reported fatalities, two people were shot dead in the southwestern town of Izeh on Sunday and several others were injured, ILNA news agency quoted a member of parliament as saying.

 

"I do not know whether yesterday's shooting was done by rally participants or the police and this issue is being investigated," Hedayatollah Khademi was quoted as saying.

 

Regional governor Mostafa Samali told Fars that only one person was killed in an incident unrelated to the protests, and the suspected shooter had been arrested.

 

Almost nine years since the "Green movement" reformist protests were crushed by the state, Iran's adversaries voiced their support for the resurgence of anti-government sentiment.

 

U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted: "The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food & for freedom. Along with human rights, the wealth of Iran is being looted. TIME FOR CHANGE!"

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the "brave Iranians" taking to streets to protest a regime that "wastes tens of billions of dollars spreading hate".

 

"I wish the Iranian people success in their noble quest for freedom," he said in a video posted on his Facebook page.

 

German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged "all sides (to) refrain from violent actions".

 

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Robin Pomeroy and David Gregorio)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-02

[Emster23]

Protesting corruption, wasting of resources on foreign intrigue, incompetence according to BBC. Don't be too hasty in your support, Donald. May encourage similar behavior back home

[Krataiboy]

With Syria on the back burner and Rocket Man preaching peace and love, is Iran about to become the focus for extending the US's hegemonic "war on terror"?

 

Not according to Fox News or CNN, of course. Me? I'd rather pull up a stool, pour a drink and listen to what the cynical old barflies at the Moon of Alabama have to say on the subject. Illuminating as the old lunar orb herself.

 

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/iran-regime-change-agents-hijack-economic-protests-.html

 

 

[55Jay]

3 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

With Syria on the back burner and Rocket Man preaching peace and love, is Iran about to become the focus for extending the US's hegemonic "war on terror"?

 

Not according to Fox News or CNN, of course. Me? I'd rather pull up a stool, pour a drink and listen to what the cynical old barflies at the Moon of Alabama have to say on the subject. Illuminating as the old lunar orb herself.

 

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/iran-regime-change-agents-hijack-economic-protests-.html

 

 

"Moon of Alabama".  Never heard of it.  Bookmarked, looks velly interwrenching.  Thanks! 

[ilostmypassword]

8 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

With Syria on the back burner and Rocket Man preaching peace and love, is Iran about to become the focus for extending the US's hegemonic "war on terror"?

 

Not according to Fox News or CNN, of course. Me? I'd rather pull up a stool, pour a drink and listen to what the cynical old barflies at the Moon of Alabama have to say on the subject. Illuminating as the old lunar orb herself.

 

http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/12/iran-regime-change-agents-hijack-economic-protests-.html

 

 

Now that I've looked at that, I've gone ahead and read something by someone who is actually deeply knowledgeable about the situation in Iran. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/protests-erupt-iran-180101142214891.html

[Krataiboy]

1 hour ago, ilostmypassword said:

Now that I've looked at that, I've gone ahead and read something by someone who is actually deeply knowledgeable about the situation in Iran. 

http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/protests-erupt-iran-180101142214891.html

Keep 'em coming. You can't have too much information about anything, though a lot of the stuff in the Aljazeera piece is opinion or deduction rather than fact.

[ilostmypassword]

9 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Keep 'em coming. You can't have too much information about anything, though a lot of the stuff in the Aljazeera piece is opinion or deduction rather than fact.

I don't look at the host but rather who's doing the reporting.

[Morch]

10 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Keep 'em coming. You can't have too much information about anything, though a lot of the stuff in the Aljazeera piece is opinion or deduction rather than fact.

 

Pretty much the same can be said about the "source" you  cited.

[Krataiboy]

On 1/3/2018 at 9:49 AM, Morch said:

 

Pretty much the same can be said about the "source" you  cited.

Rubbish. It is full of facts and sources. Maybe you should try reading it before making your usual knee-jerk comments.

[ilostmypassword]

42 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Rubbish. It is full of facts and sources. Maybe you should try reading it before making your usual knee-jerk comments.

Your source is full of disparate facts  It's also full of unfounded assertions based on the old logical fallacy  "post hoc ergo propter hoc". (After this therefor because of this.)  Just because some events precede others, doesn't mean that they are cause of those other events.

[Krataiboy]

12 minutes ago, ilostmypassword said:

Your source is full of disparate facts  It's also full of unfounded assertions based on the old logical fallacy  "post hoc ergo propter hoc". (After this therefor because of this.)  Just because some events precede others, doesn't mean that they are cause of those other events.

An interesting Latin observation. However, the fact that some events precede others does not, of course, mean they cannot be causative. This, as we know from history, is something the Romans learned the hard way.

 

My apologies if the particular source I quoted in this instance seems - how shall we say? - all Greek to you. As it happens, Al Jazeera is not everybody's idea of an unimpeachable fount of wisdom and knowledge, either.

 

Varietas delectat, as we say in Cha Am (Variety is the spice of life).

 

 

[Morch]

2 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

Rubbish. It is full of facts and sources. Maybe you should try reading it before making your usual knee-jerk comments.

 

I'm quite familiar with the blog, as well as it's original incarnation, thanks. And I have read the linked material - still  not very compelling, and not really all that neatly wrapped up.

[Krataiboy]

11 minutes ago, Morch said:

 

I'm quite familiar with the blog, as well as it's original incarnation, thanks. And I have read the linked material - still  not very compelling, and not really all that neatly wrapped up.

Well, there's no pleasin' some folk!

[Morch]

2 minutes ago, Krataiboy said:

Well, there's no pleasin' some folk!

 

 

[ilostmypassword]

20 hours ago, Krataiboy said:

An interesting Latin observation. However, the fact that some events precede others does not, of course, mean they cannot be causative. This, as we know from history, is something the Romans learned the hard way.

 

My apologies if the particular source I quoted in this instance seems - how shall we say? - all Greek to you. As it happens, Al Jazeera is not everybody's idea of an unimpeachable fount of wisdom and knowledge, either.

 

Varietas delectat, as we say in Cha Am (Variety is the spice of life).

 

 

"However, the fact that some events precede others does not, of course, mean they cannot be causative."

It's incumbent on the person who claims there is a connection to prove it. Otherwise what's to stop anyone from claiming causation for 2 events where one precedes the other?

"As it happens, Al Jazeera is not everybody's idea of an unimpeachable fount of wisdom and knowledge, either."

But Al -Jazeerea is not the author of the article. . I cited the work of Ahmad Sadri whose article happened to be posted on Al-Jazeera. There's a wide variety of opinion and analysis posted there.

Edited January 5, 2018 by ilostmypassword