Deadly overnight protests in Iran

Iran’s supreme leader has accused the country’s enemies of stirring days of protests that have claimed at least 22 lives.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was speaking for the first time since clashes between protesters and security forces broke out last Thursday.

Nine people, including a child, died overnight in violence in central Iran, state media say.

The protests are the largest since the disputed 2009 presidential election.

“In recent days, enemies of Iran used different tools including cash, weapons, politics and intelligence apparatus to create troubles for the Islamic Republic,” Iran’s supreme leader was quoted as saying in a post on his official website.

I have something to say on these events, and I will speak to the dear people when the time is right.

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 2, 2018

He said he would address the nation about the recent events “when the time was right”.

The protests began last Thursday in the city of Mashhad, initially against price rises and corruption, but have since spread amid wider anti-government sentiment.

Some 450 people have been arrested in Tehran Province in recent days, Tehran Province’s deputy governor-general is quoted as saying.

“About 200 people were arrested on Saturday, 150 on Sunday and about 100 on Monday,” Ali Asghar Naserbakht said.

President Hassan Rouhani earlier said protests were an “opportunity, not a threat”, but vowed to crack down on “lawbreakers”.

The US has stepped up support for the protesters’ “bold resistance”.

The Green Movement in 2009 saw millions of protesters dispute the election victory of incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The protests were brutally suppressed, with at least 30 people killed and thousands arrested.

Six protesters died overnight in an apparent attempt to seize guns from a police station in the town of Qahderijan in the central province of Isfahan, state TV reported.

An 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were also reported killed in the town of Khomeinishahr.

A member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was fatally wounded in nearby Kahrizsang, state media added.

In an earlier incident, there were reports of shots being fired at police in Najafabad, near Isfahan, killing one officer and wounding three.

On Tuesday, Turkey expressed concern at the unrest spreading and warned against any escalation.

Earlier US President Donald Trump stepped his war of words with Iran’s leaders, posting a tweet saying the “great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food and freedom”.

Iran is failing at every level despite the terrible deal made with them by the Obama Administration. 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!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 1, 2018

The EU has called on Iran to guarantee its citizens’ right to peaceful protest, saying it had been in touch with Iranian authorities and was monitoring the situation.

On Tuesday, Iran’s first Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri – a key backer of reformist President Rouhani – tweeted that gradual reform within the framework of the law is the only way to improve the situation in the country.

“It is this path which generates hope and movement and involves everyone’s votes and demands in creating the future,” he posted in Farsi on Twitter.