Jan 9 (Reuters) – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will give a speech in a few minutes on “the terrorist actions” in the country, Iranian state TV reported on Friday, as protests over economic hardships continued nationwide.
A countrywide internet blackout was reported in Iran on Thursday and extended into Friday, internet monitoring group NetBlocks said. It coincided with calls for more protests from Reza Pahlavi, the long-exiled son of Iran’s last shah who was toppled in the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Starting in Tehran with shopkeepers in the Grand Bazaar angered by a sharp slide in the rial currency, the latest protests now involve others – mainly young men rather than the women and girls who played a key role in 2022-23.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported at least 34 protesters and four security personnel killed, and 2,200 arrested during the unrest, which analysts say highlights deeper disillusionment with the status quo.
Authorities have tried to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while responding to some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
Nearly five decades after the Islamic Revolution, Iran’s Shi’ite Muslim clerical rulers are struggling to bridge the gap between its priorities and the expectations of a young society.
In the ongoing unrest, many protesters are venting anger over Iran’s support for militants around the Middle East, chanting “Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran” in frustration over the authorities’ perceived neglect of domestic problems.
(Reporting by Pariza Hafezi; editing by Alison Williams and Mark Heinrich)
