Tehran (Iran), 18 Nov 2019 (GNP): Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei spoke to a student in Tehran regarding the present unrest in the country.
On the 15th of November the Iranian government announced a cut to gas subsidies to fund aid for the poor. The price hikes and rationing sparked protests in several cities. Protests intensified as some set fire to public properties and conflicted with the police, causing a number of deaths and several wounded since the announcement on Friday.
Iranian Interior Minister states security forces “have so far shown restraint” but will act to maintain peace if the demonstrators “damaged public properties”.
Since the rise in opposition from the public shift within Iranian parliamentarians to reverse the decision has been seen fearing the escalation of protests, as seen recently in Iraq and Lebanon. Yet Iran’s leader Ayatollah Khamenei is in support of the decision to increase petrol prices, blaming “hooligans” for damaging public properties during protests. Gasoline in Iran still remains among the cheapest in the world, despite the jump in prices by over 50%. The government says that the increase in price is expected to provide additional subsidies for some 60 million Iranians on lower incomes. (GNP)