10 Killed in Iran Protests on Sunday

Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in west London, Britain December 31, 2017. (Reuters)
Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in west London, Britain December 31, 2017. (Reuters)
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10 Killed in Iran Protests on Sunday

Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in west London, Britain December 31, 2017. (Reuters)
Opponents of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani hold a protest outside the Iranian embassy in west London, Britain December 31, 2017. (Reuters)

The death toll in the protests that have been raging in Iran since Thursday has reached 12, state television announced on Monday.

Ten of the victims alone were killed during protests on Sunday.

"In the events of last night, unfortunately, a total of about 10 people were killed in several cities," state television said while showing footage of damage from the demonstrations. It gave no further details of the deaths.

The nationwide protests have drawn in tens of thousands of people and represent the boldest challenge to Iran's leadership since pro-reform unrest in 2009. Calls for more demonstrations on Monday raise the possibility of prolonged instability.

Unsigned statements posted on social media urged Iranians to demonstrate again in the capital Tehran and 50 other urban centers.

The Iranian Interior Ministry said that it had not received requests for demonstrations to be held on Monday.

Iran is a major OPEC oil producer but frustrations have grown at home while the country is deeply involved in Syria and Iraq.

Those foreign interventions are also fueling anger in the Islamic Republic because Iranians want their leaders to create jobs instead of engaging in costly proxy wars.

The unrest erupted in the second city of Mashhad against price rises but it swiftly spread and turned into political rallies.

Some called on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to step down and chanted against a government they described as thieves.

Demonstrators say they are angry over corruption and economic hardship in a country where youth unemployment reached 28.8 percent last year.

Protests continued overnight even though President Hassan Rouhani appealed for calm. In remarks carried on state TV, he said Iranians had the right to criticize authorities but also warned of a crackdown.

"The government will show no tolerance for those who damage public properties, violate public order and create unrest in the society," Rouhani said. Hundreds of people have been arrested but security forces have largely shown restraint.

Footage circulated on social media showed security forces opening tear gas at the protesters. Over the weekend, other footage showed the two sides pelting each other with rocks.

Two people were shot dead in the southwestern town of Izeh on Sunday and several others were injured, ILNA news agency quoted a member of parliament as saying. It was not clear if the two dead were part of the 10 cited on state television.

Authorities blamed the deaths on foreign agents.

"I do not know whether yesterday's shooting was done by rally participants or the police and this issue is being investigated," Hedayatollah Khademi was quoted as saying.

Regional governor Mostafa Samali told the semi-official news agency Fars that just one person had been killed and that the incident was unrelated to the protests and the alleged shooter had been arrested.

Police in the center of Tehran fired water cannon on Sunday to try to disperse demonstrators, according to pictures on social media.

Demonstrations turned violent in Shahin Shahr in central Iran. Videos showed protesters attacking the police, turning over a car and setting it on fire.

There were also reports of demonstrations in the western cities of Sanandaj and Kermanshah as well as Chabahar in the southeast and Ilam and Izeh in the southwest.

Videos showed people in central Tehran chanting: "Down with the dictator!" in an apparent reference to Khamenei.

Protesters in Khorramabad in western Iran shouted: "Khamenei, shame on you, leave the country alone!"

The government said it would temporarily restrict access to the Telegram messaging app and Instagram, owned by Facebook Inc, state television said. There were also reports that mobile access to the internet was being blocked in some areas.

"Iran, the Number One State of Sponsored Terror with numerous violations of Human Rights occurring on an hourly basis, has now closed down the Internet so that peaceful demonstrators cannot communicate. Not good!" US President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday.



Trump Says Israeli Strike on Iran Could Happen

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
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Trump Says Israeli Strike on Iran Could Happen

President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Saturday, July 27, 2024, in St. Cloud, Minn. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he is still urging Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal, but that he is concerned a “massive conflict” could occur in the Middle East if it does not.

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter about a potential Israeli attack. "Look, it’s very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump offered guarded optimism that a conflict could still be avoided, and said he's urging Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off from taking action for the time-being.

“As long as I think there is a (chance for an) agreement, I don’t want them going in because I think it would blow it," Trump stated.

Trump said he felt it was necessary for his administration on Wednesday to direct a voluntary evacuation of nonessential personnel and their families from some US diplomatic outposts in the Middle East.

“We have a lot of American people in this area. And I said, we got to tell them to get out because something could happen soon,” Trump said. "And I don’t want to be the one that didn’t give any warning, and missiles are flying into their buildings. It’s possible. So I had to do it."

Iran said it has built and will activate a third nuclear enrichment facility, ratcheting up tensions with the UN on Thursday immediately after its atomic watchdog agency censured Iran for failing to comply with nonproliferation obligations meant to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

“Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization said in a joint statement.

The censure by the International Atomic Energy Agency, its first in 20 years over Iranian non-compliance, could set in motion an effort to restore sanctions on Iran later this year.

Trump had previously warned that Israel or America could launch airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities if negotiators failed to reach a deal on Iran's rapidly advancing nuclear program.

A sixth round of Iran-US talks is scheduled to begin Sunday in Oman.