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On December 30, thousands of Iranians took at the streets in the provinces of Tehran, Tabriz, Orumiyeh, Sanandaj, Mashhad and in many other areas all acrossIran to protest against the Iranian government for the third day in a row, according to Iranian activists.
#IRGC & Police anti-riot unit opened fire at people of #Tehran near Azadi street, people are fighting back with bare hands. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/ge6aebSaQb
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 30, 2017
The protests first broke out on December 28, when thousands went out to complain about the economic situation and some policies of the Iranian government. Unlike previous protests, the protestors shouted more radical slogans criticizing the supreme leader of Iran, the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and even some regional forces that’s backed by the Iranian government like Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Palestinian Hamas Movement.
People of #Malayer tear down billboard carrying image of dictator Ali #Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Islamic regime during protest against corrupted Shia clercis and authorities of Islamic regime of Iran. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/1o3cbgJ7IO
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 30, 2017
Clashes between the Iranian security forces and protestors were reported in many areas all across the country. The most violent clashes were in Tahrin and Dorood. Some Iranian activists even claimed that several protestors were killed by the Iranian security forces. However, these claims were not confirmed.
Another video showing protesters who were killed by #IRGC at #Dorud. #IranProtests pic.twitter.com/rSptfLAkvg
— Babak Taghvaee (@BabakTaghvaee) December 30, 2017
On the other side, thousands of Iranian civilians marched in several major cities across Iran, including Mashhad, Qom and Tehran to stress their support for the current Iranian government. The marchers also criticized the foreign interference in the Iranian internal matters.
In a direct comment on the ongoing protests in Iran, US President Donald Trump wrote in his Twitter account on December 29 that the world is watching what’s going on in Iran. The US president accused the Iranian government of bankrupting Iran by funding “terrorism”.
Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 30, 2017
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi condemned US interference in Iran internal matters and called Trump’s words regarding the protests in the country an “opportunistic and deceitful mottos”, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).
“The noble Iranian nation never pays heed to the opportunist and hypocritical mottos chanted by the U.S. officials and their interfering allegations on domestic developments in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Qasemi said.
