Iran’s Khamenei signals possible crackdown on ‘thugs’ protesting against fuel prices
- Wave of protests broke out after Iran imposed fuel-rationing measures and upped the cost of petrol
- Khamenei ordered security forces ‘to implement their tasks’ and for citizens to keep clear of violent demonstrators
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments came as authorities shut down the internet across Iran to smother the protests in some two dozen cities and towns over the rise of government-set prices by 50 per cent as of Friday.
Since the increase, demonstrators have abandoned their cars along major motorways and joined mass protests in the capital, Tehran, and elsewhere. Some protests turned violent, with demonstrators setting fires and there was also gunfire.
It remains to be seen how many people have been injured, killed or arrested. Authorities on Saturday said only one person was killed, though other videos from the protests have shown people gravely wounded.
In an address aired by state television on Sunday, Khamenei said “some lost their lives and some places were destroyed”, without elaborating. He called violent protesters “thugs” who had been pushed into violence by counter-revolutionaries and foreign enemies of Iran. He specifically named those aligned with the family of Iran’s late shah, ousted 40 years ago, and an exile group called the Mujahedeen-e-Khalq.
