Tehran, Jan 7, (dpa/GNA) – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday called on security forces to exercise restraint in dealing with nationwide demonstrations, so long as national security is not jeopardized.
His vice president, Mohammad Jafar Ghaempanah, said protests by traders, who have been taking to the streets for days because of the worsening economic crisis, are legitimate from the government’s perspective.
Speaking on the sidelines of a Cabinet meeting, he warned however that armed rioters would be dealt with without leniency.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had already called for toughness against “troublemakers” and at the same time also spoke of a justified protest by traders.
By the 10th day of protests on Wednesday, more than 2,000 people had been detained, according to activists.
At least 34 demonstrators have been killed in clashes with the authorities since the protests broke out, the US-based human rights network HRANA reported on Wednesday. Two members of the security forces have also been killed, it said.
The group said there have been events at some 285 locations across the country.
Iran’s judiciary said on Wednesday it would fast-track trials in response to the ongoing wave of protests, according to the Mizan judicial portal.
The protests were triggered by a shock on Iran’s foreign exchange market, which prompted angry traders in Tehran to take to the streets. The demonstrations quickly turned into political protests against the authoritarian government of the Islamic Republic, which the authorities are confronting with force.
The largest protests have taken place in the western provinces. Most recently, there have been fierce clashes mainly in rural areas.
GNA