Renewed Protests in Iran’s Restive Southeast, Currency at New Low

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Renewed Protests in Iran’s Restive Southeast, Currency at New Low

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the republic's "morality police", in Tehran, Iran September 21, 2022. (WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Demonstrators marched in Iran's restive southeast on Friday amid reports on social media that security forces were surrounding a mosque at the center of weekly anti-government rallies.

Anti-government protests have been taking place across Iran since last September's death in custody of 22-year-old Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini for flouting hijab policy, which requires women to entirely cover their hair and bodies.

"We swear on our comrades' blood to stand strong until the end," hundreds of demonstrators were seen chanting in a video from the flashpoint city of Zahedan posted by the activist news agency HRANA.

Another widely-circulated video purported to show security forces beating and arresting a Baluch man trying to enter the Makki Mosque in Zahedan, capital of Sistan-Baluchistan province.

Reuters could not immediately verify the videos.

The Baluch minority, estimated to number up to 2 million people, has faced discrimination and repression for decades, according to rights groups. Sistan-Baluchistan, bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan, is one of Iran's poorest provinces and has seen repeated killings by security forces in recent years.

Zahedan saw one of the deadliest days of protests after Amini's death, with at least 66 people killed in a crackdown there on Sept. 30, Amnesty International said.

As with previous bouts of unrest, authorities appeared to have disrupted internet services on Friday.

"Confirmed: Real-time network data show a significant disruption to internet connectivity in Zahedan, #Iran; the incident comes amid a growing security presence during Friday protests," NetBlocks internet monitor said.

There was no immediate word on state media of Friday's protests. Tehran says the protests are instigated by its foreign enemies.

Meanwhile, Iran's currency continued its slide to hit new lows, weighed by the unrest and Tehran's increased isolation under mounting Western sanctions.

The rial plummeted to a new record low of 539,200 against the US dollar on Friday, compared to 526,500 on Thursday, according to foreign exchange site Bonbast.com, amid reports of new sanctions against Iran.

The US Commerce Department targeted Belarus, Iran and others in its latest response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, imposing export control measures and adding more targets to its entity list.

While the nationwide unrest has diminished in recent weeks, probably because of executions and crackdowns, acts of civil disobedience have continued from anti-government graffiti to unveiled women appearing in public.



UK Announces $19 billion Investment in 1st Major Nuclear Plant since the 1990s

Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
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UK Announces $19 billion Investment in 1st Major Nuclear Plant since the 1990s

Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
Sizewell B nuclear power station in Suffolk, southeast England, April 10, 2013. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo

Britain will invest 14.2 billion pounds ($19 billion) to build a new nuclear station that will reduce the UK's reliance on volatile international fossil fuel markets, the government said Tuesday.

Officials said the investment will go into building the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk, on England's eastern coast, saying it will generate enough low-carbon electricity to power 6 million homes when it becomes operational in the 2030s.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said previous governments had dithered and delayed over nuclear power. No new nuclear plant has been opened in the UK since Sizewell B in 1995, The AP news reported.

“Having our own energy in this country that we control, gives us security, gives us independence, so (Russian President Vladimir) Putin can’t put his boot on our throat," Starmer said. “And it means that we can control the prices in a way that we haven’t been able to in recent years, which has meant very high prices for businesses, for households and for families."

The government also announced that Rolls-Royce is the preferred bidder to develop a number of small modular reactors, which it said can power around 3 million homes and help fuel power-hungry industries like AI data centers.

The Treasury said building Sizewell C will create 10,000 jobs. The investment announced Tuesday is in addition to 3.7 billion pounds the UK government already committed to the project.

Nuclear power is seen as an increasingly important electricity source as the government seeks to decarbonize Britain’s electricity grid by 2030, replacing fossil fuels with low-carbon power.

The UK also wants to reduce its dependence on imported oil and gas, especially in light of soaring energy prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But critics have said nuclear plants are far more expensive and slow to build compared with renewable energy options such as solar and wind power. Environmental groups have also argued Sizewell C will damage local nature reserves that host wildlife like otters and marsh birds.

About 300 people joined a protest against the development at the Suffolk site over the weekend.

“Net zero is supposed to happen by 2030 — there is no way this is going to be completed by then," said Jenny Kirtley, a local resident who chairs the campaign group Together Against Sizewell C.