Iranian police have said they will “decisively” deal with further protests over economic difficulties, a day after security forces fired tear gas to disperse protesters in the southwestern city of Behbahan.
Iran’s rulers have tried to prevent a resurgence of last November’s anti-government protests in which hundreds of people were killed.
Tehran says the death toll was 225 people, including members of the security forces. Human rights group Amnesty International said at least 304 people were killed and thousands more were injured when authorities cracked down on protesters.
On Tuesday, the judiciary said the death sentences of three men involved in the riots had been confirmed, prompting an increase in online protests.
In a statement Friday, police urged people to “vigilantly refrain from any gathering that could serve as a pretext for the counter-revolutionary movement,” accusing the “enemies” of provoking discontent.
“The police force has an inherent and legal duty to deal decisively with these desperate movements,” the statement added.
‘Scattered’ protesters
The police chief of the city of Behbahan, in the south-west of Iran, Colonel Mohammad Azizi, was quoted by the Iranian website jamaran.news as confirming that a protest took place from 9 pm local time (15:30 GMT) Thursday.
He said the police “firmly dispersed” the protesters, who rallied about the economy, and that there were no injuries.
Iranian media reported that police dispersed protesters in southwestern Iran, angered by Iran’s anemic economy amid a US sanctions campaign.
Internet access advocacy group NetBlocks.org also reported on the disruption affecting online access in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province on Thursday night.
The disruption coincided with the online posting of videos of protesters gathered in the city of Behbahan, some 570 km (355 miles) southwest of the capital Tehran.
A video verified by The Associated Press news agency shows a crowd of dozens of people in a plaza in Behbahan, shouting, “An Iranian will die, but he will never accept humiliation.”
Videos posted on social media from inside Iran on Thursday showed protesters singing, “Don’t fear, don’t fear, we’re in this together!” Some chanted slogans against senior officials.
The videos posted on Twitter showed a strong presence of the security forces in various cities.
“People are angry. The economy is so bad that we cannot survive,” an Iranian man told the Reuters news agency by phone from Tehran on Thursday, asking not to be identified because of security concerns.
Last year’s riots began with protests over financial difficulties, but they became political, and protesters demanded that senior officials resign.
The economy, which has already been hit by U.S. sanctions that have cut its oil exports, has further deteriorated in recent months as a result of the coronavirus crisis.
There were calls on social media for protests across the country on Friday to protest the three death sentences.
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