Iran cities hit by anti-government protests

[Right_in_Virginia]

Iran cities hit by anti-government protests
BBC, Dec 29, 2017

Anti-government demonstrations that began in one city on Thursday have now spread to several major cities in Iran.

Large numbers are reported to have turned out in Rasht, in the north. and Kermanshar, in the west, with smaller protests in Shiraz, Isfahan and Hamadan.

The protests began against rising prices but have spiralled into a general outcry against clerical rule.

A small number of people have been arrested in Tehran, the capital.

They were among a group of 50 people who gathered in a city square, Tehran's deputy governor-general for security affairs told the Iranian Labour News Agency.

The governor-general of Tehran earlier said that any such gatherings would be firmly dealt with by the police, who are out in force on main intersections.


More: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42512946#

[Right_in_Virginia]

Iran arrests demonstrators in 2nd day of anti-regime protests
Times of Israel, Dec 29, 2017


(Twitter video screen capture)

<snip>

On Thursday, hundreds took to the streets of Iran’s second-largest city Mashhad and other towns to protest high prices and unemployment.

An Iranian official said Friday that 52 people were arrested in the previous day’s protests.

The protests were mostly directed at Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s government, the Nazar media network reported.


More: https://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-arrests-demonstrators-in-2nd-day-of-anti-regime-protests/

[Right_in_Virginia]

Cotton: We Should Support the Iranian People’s Protests Against ‘Hateful’ Ayatollahs
Washington Free Beacon, Dec 29, 2017, David Rutz

Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) issued a statement of support Thursday for Iranian citizens protesting the regime, condemning the government's "hateful ideology" as more committed to regional conflicts than the needs of its people.

Tom Cotton‏Verified account
@SenTomCotton 
My statement on the Iranian protests: http://ow.ly/jshe30htEET 

"Even after the billions in sanctions relief they secured through the nuclear deal, the ayatollahs still can't provide for the basic needs of their own people-perhaps because they've funneled so much of that money into their campaign of regional aggression in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen. The protests in Mashhad show that a regime driven by such a hateful ideology cannot maintain broad popular support forever, and we should support the Iranian people who are willing to risk their lives to speak out against it."

4:54 PM - 28 Dec 2017

https://twitter.com/SenTomCotton/status/946545016851267585

More: http://freebeacon.com/national-security/cotton-support-iranian-peoples-protest-hateful-ayatollahs/

[Right_in_Virginia]

(Twitter video screen capture)

Hey, Mr. ayatollah, it sure looks like more than 50 protestors to me ..... 

[Bigun]

If there is ever to be anything remotely resembling stability in the Middle East again the Mullahs currently in control of the Iranian government are going to have to be forcibly removed. 

[Oceander]

If there is ever to be anything remotely resembling stability in the Middle East again the Mullahs currently in control of the Iranian government are going to have to be forcibly removed. 

By whom?

[Bigun]

By whom?

Preferably by the Iranian people themselves as would have happened back in 2009 with just a little help from their friends but unfortunately Obama was in charge then.  It appears that another opportunity may now be emerging.

[endicom]

This guy is following it: https://twitter.com/potkazar

[Right_in_Virginia]

Who didn't see this coming? 

Mass pro-government rallies in Iran after protests
Daily Mail, Dec 30, 2017



Tens of thousands of regime supporters marched in cities across Iran on Saturday in a show of strength for the regime after two days of angry protests directed against the country's religious rulers.

State television showed huge crowds of black-clad supporters gathering in the capital Tehran, second city Mashhad and elsewhere to mark the anniversary of the end of "the sedition" -- the last major unrest that followed disputed elections in 2009.

The pre-planned rallies came just after anti-government protests, which had spread from Mashhad on Thursday to numerous towns across the country.

Initially aimed against high prices, the anti-government protests quickly turned against the Islamic regime as a whole.

Videos on social media showed hundreds marching through the holy city of Qom on Friday evening, with people chanting "Death to the dictator" and "Free political prisoners".


More: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/afp/article-5222501/Mass-pro-government-rallies-Iran-protests.html

[mountaineer]

A reminder of Iran before the Islamic revolution:

More

[kevindavis007]

https://twitter.com/joshdcaplan/status/947223436786585605

[Right_in_Virginia]

I hope this gets through ... it's been reported the Mullah's are pulling the plug on the internet ...

Trump to Iran: 'The world is watching!'
CNN, Dec 30, 2017, Daniella Diaz and Dan Merica

President Donald Trump on Saturday tweeted his support for protests taking place in Iran, writing, "The world is watching!"

In a pair of tweets, the President wrote: "The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and, other than the vast military power of the United States, that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most...."

Trump continued: "Oppressive regimes cannot endure forever, and the day will come when the Iranian people will face a choice. The world is watching!"

In the tweets, Trump posted videos of a speech he gave to the United Nations in September, in which he said, "The entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change."

The President's Twitter posts follow a White House statement making similar points, which he tweeted late Friday night.

More:  http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/30/politics/donald-trump-iran-protests/index.html

[Right_in_Virginia]

This map doesn’t show all sites of protest but it's being spread to give a visual understanding of how the protests are spreading across the country.  Twitter reports getting out say the protests are well organized. 

[Right_in_Virginia]

Protests in Iran stretch into third day despite government warnings
Washington Post, Dec 30, 2017/ 4:55 PM ET, Erin Cunningham

ISTANBUL — Anti-government protests spurred by economic woes hit Iran for a third day Saturday, news agencies and social media reported, in what has quickly emerged as a significant challenge to the administration of President Hassan Rouhani.

Demonstrators protesting price hikes and high unemployment turned out in cities and towns across the country, defying police and voicing anger at the cleric-ruled government, in an extraordinary display of public dissent.

Officials warned Saturday that citizens should stay away from “illegal gatherings,” even as protests spread to new regions.

Footage emerged late Saturday of demonstrators appearing to attack government buildings and engaging in violent confrontations with police. The BBC Persian service reported that two demonstrators had been shot in the western part of the country, citing video on social media. One video from Tehran showed protesters tearing down posters of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds absolute authority in Iran. The images were posted online and could not immediately be verified.


More:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/pro-government-demonstrators-rally-in-iran-following-days-of-unrest/2017/12/30/a737b40e-ecdd-11e7-956e-baea358f9725_story.html?utm_term=.4efb09dde4fd

[Right_in_Virginia]

Trump redoubles support of Iran protests, saying the 'world is watching'
Fox News, Dec 30, 2017, Joseph Weber

<snip>

Against the backdrop of the Trump comments, reports emerged that the protests were escalating in their violence. Reuters said Saturday that videos posted on social media showed two young Iranian men lying motionless on the ground and covered with blood; a voiceover said they had been shot dead by police. It said security forces fired on protesters in the western town of Dorud and killed at least two. Other protesters in the same video were chanting, "I will kill whoever killed my brother!"

***

And, AP reports said, in Tehran and Karaj west of the capital, protesters smashed windows on state buildings and set fires in the streets. Images carried by the semiofficial news agency Tasnim showed burning garbage bins and smashed-up bus shelters in the street lining the university after the protests subsided.

Trump’s increasingly forceful comments on the demonstrations mark the second time in two days that he has publicly backed the protests, amid growing support in Washington for the anti-government movement, largely sparked by Iranians’ frustration over rising food costs and continued high unemployment.

***

Earlier Saturday, Iran dismissed Trump’s public support Friday for the protests in the capital city of Tehran and elsewhere in the Arabian Gulf country.

“Iranian people give no credit to the deceitful and opportunist remarks of U.S. officials or Mr. Trump," said Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi, according to a state television report.


More: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/30/iran-slams-trump-as-opportunist-and-deceitful-after-support-anti-government-protests.html

[Bigun]

I hope things are being done other than tweeting.

[Right_in_Virginia]

Let's hope we're doing more than talking about it ....

“The oppressive Iranian regime is of course trying to suppress the fact that protests against their tyrannical reign are popping up across Iran,” said Texas Rep. Will Hurd, a Republican member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. “The Ayatollahs are out of touch with their citizens and are exporting terror abroad. We should support a free and peaceful Iran. We should support the people of Iran who have had enough.”

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/12/30/iran-slams-trump-as-opportunist-and-deceitful-after-support-anti-government-protests.html

[Right_in_Virginia]

I hope things are being done other than tweeting.

I just posted the same thing ...   

[Right_in_Virginia]

Analysis  //  The Iranian Regime Has Learned to Fear Protesters
Demonstrations have a habit of being infectious. What happens next depends on how brutally the regime responds
Haaretz/Israel, Dec 31, 2017, Zvi Bar'el


University students attend a protest inside Tehran University in Iran, Saturday, Dec. 30, 2017 Credit: /AP

   
●  Iran protests: Billboards of supreme leader torn down, police cars overturned as protests engulf Islamic republic 

●  Iran protests: As Israeli ministers offer praise, Netanyahu requests to 'minimize' comments 

●  Iran protests: Day after anti-government rallies, thousands of Iranians show support for Rohani in Tehran


More: https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east-news/iran/.premium-1.832105

[Right_in_Virginia]

Some photos are getting out ... don't know the cities.

[Right_in_Virginia]

[kevindavis007]

https://twitter.com/CommitteeOnIran/status/947254188932812802

[Sanguine]

I wish them success in overthrowing the mullahs. 

[dfwgator]

Obama and ValJar are deeply saddened.

[WingNot]

The Mullahs are not going to like this turn of events one bit.  I wish they still had a KFC in Tehran.  We could order a few two "peace" meals for the protesters.