Tehran, Jan 3 (EFE).- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday urged authorities to act firmly against what he described as “disturbances” and attempts to exploit trader protests to undermine the Islamic republic, as demonstrations continued across the country.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that some people, under various titles and names, act with the aim of destruction and insecurity, hiding behind believing merchants and revolutionaries and abusing their protests to provoke disturbances,” Khamenei said at a ceremony marking the sixth anniversary of the killing of Revolutionary Guard General Qasem Soleimani.
Soleimani was killed on Jan. 3, 2020, in a US drone strike near Baghdad airport.
Khamenei called on authorities to “put in their place” those he described as rioters and “mercenaries of the enemy,” in an apparent reference to Israel and the United States.
“That a group of incited individuals, mercenaries of the enemy, place themselves behind merchants and launch slogans against Islam, against Iran and against the Islamic Republic is truly serious,” he said.
At the same time, Khamenei urged officials to distinguish between protesters from the merchant class and those he accused of seeking to destabilize the state.
“The Islamic Republic or the Islamic system cannot be confronted in the name of the bazaar and the merchants,” he said, referring to slogans chanted against the Islamic Republic during demonstrations.
The protests began last Sunday, initially led by merchants at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar and other commercial centers in the capital, before spreading rapidly to dozens of cities and drawing participation from broader segments of society.
According to the US-based opposition NGO Hrana, at least eight people have been killed in clashes with security forces during the first six days of protests. Iranian authorities have not issued a consolidated official toll.
Videos circulated by Hrana and other activists show scenes of confrontations between protesters and riot police, including the sound of gunfire.
EFE has not independently verified the footage.
The protests have been driven by Iran’s worsening economic situation, marked by annual inflation of around 42 percent, while point-to-point inflation in December exceeded 52 percent compared with the same period last year.
The rial has also continued to depreciate, under pressure from international sanctions imposed by the United States and the United Nations over Iran’s nuclear program. EFE
ash-sk
