Protests and after: Iran has been rocked by days of protests over the economy and the Islamic regime as a whole. The first wave of protests began last Saturday at Mashhad and spread to other cities, including the religious centre of Qom. The unrest has left at least 21 dead, and is the biggest such movement since the protests in 2009 over a disputed election. The regime was taken aback by the outpouring of discontent. On Friday, January 5, pro-regime rallies were taken out at many places. The picture, extreme right, shows pro-government demonstrators during one such march in Tehran. U.S. President Donald Trump added to the confusion with his tweet that “it is time for change” in Iran. On Tuesday, Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke his silence and said Iran’s “enemies have united and are using all their means” against the regime.
The photo on the right, obtained by AP, shows university students at a protest at Tehran University on December 30.
