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The protests spread to more parts of Iran on Friday as ordinary Iranians demanded that the government reimburse food subsidies, which have risen since earlier this week. Observers also noted that the protests had taken on a markedly anti-regime tone over the past 48 hours.
Social media videos have shown protesters shouting anti-regime slogans and in two separate cases attacking the offices of the much-feared Basij paramilitary militia. Other images shown on The Foreign Desk’s website show a red car allegedly spraying protesters with an unknown liquid, possibly tear gas.
Protesters were heard not fearing retaliation from state security services shouting “Death to Khamenei! Death to Raisi!” targeting Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who has promised to create jobs, lift sanctions and save the economy.
PROTESTS IN IRAN BREAK OUT IN THE COUNTRY OF THE FOOD COUNTRY OF THE FOOD COUNTRY
Lisa Daftari, an expert on Iran and editor-in-chief of The Foreign Desk, told Fox News Digital that the protests had spread to several other Iranian provinces, including Khuzestan, Lorestan, Kurdistan, Isfahan, Kermanshah and Hamedan. Sistan, Rashch, Azerbaijan, Chaharmahal Bakhtiari and Shahrekord and Ardebil.
Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi spoke at a news conference in Tehran, Iran, on Monday. (AP photo)
Daftari said: “Over the last decade, the Iranian people have done a wonderful job acting as citizen journalists to tell the world what the real plight of the Iranian people is and how misrepresented their regime is in the mainstream media. While the Biden administration, like the Obama administration, is busy obscuring the facts of a brutal and repressive regime that is not interested in changing its way, the people of Iran are suffering. They tell us their true stories. “
The Associated Press, citing reports from Iran’s state news agency IRNA, said about 22 protesters had been arrested since last night. The Iranian UN mission in New York did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
EXPECT A NUCLEAR DOMINO EFFECT IN THE MIDDLE EAST IF IRAN GETS WEAPONS ABILITY
As protests continue, the Biden administration is still seeking to rejoin the nuclear deal with Iran, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Although there is growing opposition in Congress against the US return to the deal, the administration continues to push for a return. The agreement was signed by President Obama in 2015, and President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in 2018.
During a week when two Europeans were arrested on espionage charges in Iran, Reuters reported on Friday that a State Department official said the United States appreciated the EU’s efforts to renew the deal. Negotiations have stalled in recent weeks.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD) and an expert on Iran, told Fox News Digital that the protests were part of a broader anti-government trend.
“It would be another mistake to see these protests as isolated or simply economic. “They are part of a growing trend of anti-regime protests that use social, economic and environmental issues to express their desire for responsible and representative governance,” he said.
He said the administration must take into account what is happening. “A little over a decade ago, some slogans chanted by Iranian protests over the death of the supreme leader or in favor of Iran’s last monarchical dynasty would have been taboo. Now they are commonplace. “Washington cannot afford to ignore this transition,” he said.
Iran sharply raised prices by up to 300% for various basic products such as oil, chicken, eggs and milk on Thursday. Dozens of worried Iranians waited in long lines to grab bundles of food and emptied supermarket shelves across the country in the hours before the price hike took effect.
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Although Iran produces about half of its own wheat, it imports much of the rest of Russia. The war intensified inflationary pressures.
The government is trying to act quickly to dull the pain. Authorities have promised to pay each Iranian citizen about $ 14 a month to compensate for the price increase.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
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