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AFP
Tehran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday praised the armed forces for taking “timely” action against “rioters” and suggested calm had been restored after days of unrest sparked by a hike in petrol prices.
Authorities vowed to arrest leaders of the protests that erupted Friday, in which police stations were attacked, petrol pumps torched and shops looted, and which Iran has blamed on a plot by foreign enemies.
While the internet remained mostly blocked for a fifth day, state TV showed footage of what it said were pro-government rallies to celebrate the defeat of the “conspiracy”.
Crowds in cities including Qom and Isfahan chanted “death to seditionists, death to America” and “the blood in our veins is a gift to our leader”.
In the days of unrest, “incidents, big and small, caused by the rise in petrol price took place in (a little) less than 100 cities across Iran,” said a statement on the Guards’ official website Sepahnews.com.
It said the “incidents were ended in less than 24 hours and in some cities in 72 hours” as a result of the “armed forces’ insight and timely action”.
Protest leaders were arrested in the province of Tehran and Alborz as well as in the southern city of Shiraz, it added.
The “arrest of the rioters’ leaders has contributed significantly to calming the situation,” it said.
Tehran
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday praised the armed forces for taking “timely” action against “rioters” and suggested calm had been restored after days of unrest sparked by a hike in petrol prices.
Authorities vowed to arrest leaders of the protests that erupted Friday, in which police stations were attacked, petrol pumps torched and shops looted, and which Iran has blamed on a plot by foreign enemies.
While the internet remained mostly blocked for a fifth day, state TV showed footage of what it said were pro-government rallies to celebrate the defeat of the “conspiracy”.
Crowds in cities including Qom and Isfahan chanted “death to seditionists, death to America” and “the blood in our veins is a gift to our leader”.
In the days of unrest, “incidents, big and small, caused by the rise in petrol price took place in (a little) less than 100 cities across Iran,” said a statement on the Guards’ official website Sepahnews.com.
It said the “incidents were ended in less than 24 hours and in some cities in 72 hours” as a result of the “armed forces’ insight and timely action”.
Protest leaders were arrested in the province of Tehran and Alborz as well as in the southern city of Shiraz, it added.
The “arrest of the rioters’ leaders has contributed significantly to calming the situation,” it said.
