That concludes our live-blogging of the Iran protests for Friday, January 5, 2018. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
U.S. Call For Support For Iranian Protesters Gets Mixed Response At UN
By RFE/RL
The U.S. call for support for Iranian antigovernment protesters drew a mixed reaction at the United Nations, with even some U.S. allies questioning whether an international response was justified.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley opened an emergency session of the UN Security Council on January 5 with an impassioned plea for “brave” Iranian demonstrators, saying they are "risking their lives" to assert their rights to criticize the government and pursue a better life.
"The Iranian people are rising up in over 79 locations throughout the country," Haley said. "It is a powerful exhibition of brave people who have become so fed up with their oppressive government that they are willing to risk their lives in protest."
"The Iranian regime is finally on notice: The world will be watching what you do," she said.
But Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said the United States was "abusing the platform of the Security Council" with a "bogus" pretext to interfere in the domestic affairs of a member nation.
He also accused the White House of using the events in Iran as a false pretense for scrapping a deal that requires Iran to curb its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
The Trump administration certified Iran's compliance twice last year, but in October the president declined to certify for the first time, pointing to Iran's ballistic-missile development and other matters which he said were in violation of the "spirit" of the deal.
"The true underlying reason for convening today's session lies not in attempts to protect the human rights and interests of Iranian people but in a veiled attempt to use the current moment to continue the line towards derailing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which aims to settle the situation around Iran's nuclear program," Nebenzya said.
Iranian UN Ambassador Gholamali Khoshroo also accused the United States of "bullying" and "abusing" its power to summon a meeting of the Security Council on a matter he said was "outside the scope of its mandate.”
Envoys from China, Sweden, Bolivia, and several other countries also expressed reservations about whether the Security Council was the right forum for discussing the protests.
But in perhaps the biggest blow to U.S. hopes of galvanizing support for the protesters, some U.S. allies in Europe also questioned the move to raise the matter before the Security Council. Only British UN Ambassador Matthew Rycroft openly defended the move.
“However worrying the events of the last few days in Iran may be, they do not constitute per se a threat to international peace and security," said France's UN ambassador, Francois Delattre.
"We must be wary of any attempts to exploit this crisis for personal ends, which would have the diametrically opposed outcome to that which is wished," he said.
The rebuff from close U.S. allies prompted a tweet from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif claiming that Iran had successfully fended off the U.S. attempt to organize any UN intervention in Iran.
"The UNSC rebuffed the U.S.'s naked attempt to hijack its mandate -- Another [foreign policy] blunder for the Trump administration," Zarif tweeted.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson acknowledged being disappointed about the response to the Iranian protests, especially from Western allies.
"We're a bit disappointed that the European Union has not taken a more definitive stance in supporting those voices in the country that are calling for reform," he said in an interview on January 5 with the Associated Press.
Protests continued overnight
Footage on social media purportedly showed protests continuing across Iran overnight from January 5-6.
Videos circulating on social media appeared to show protests in Tehran, Mashhad, Arak, Khomein, Qazvin, Masjed Soleiman, Takestan, and in the central province of Esfahan, according to RFE/RL's Radio Farda.
This video appears to show soccer fans chanting slogans during a game in Tabriz, the capital of West Azerbaijan Province, a predominately ethnic Azeri region. Fans can be heard saying, “The people of Azerbaijan reject suffering and abjection.”
Neda Agha Soltan
Antigovernment protesters in Tabriz purportedly chanted the name of Soltan, the 26-year-old philosophy student and protester who was gunned down during the bloody government crackdown on demonstrators during the 2009 mass rallies.
Protest In Khuzestan
Elsewhere, a large crowd in the city of Masjed Soleiman, in southwest province of Khuzestan, came out to mourn the death of two protesters killed in recent days.
This video purports to show protesters shouting antigovernment slogans.
Khuzestan Province has a predominately Arab population and is the center of oil production in Iran. Protests have been especially intense in Ahvaz, the largest city in Khuzestan.
Protest In Birthplace Of Khomeini
Khomein, the birthplace of Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, was not spared the anger of antigovernment protesters. A video purports to show a large crowd coming out for the first time in the city on January 5 shouting, “God bless your soul Reza Shah,” a reference to the former shah of Iran who ruled until 1941.
Reza Shah was the founding king of the Pahlavi dynasty, who put Iran on the path to modernization. The monarchy was toppled in the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Antigovernment demonstrators have been chanting pro-monarchy slogans across Iran since the current protests erupted on December 28.
Protests In Tehran
Footage has emerged purportedly showing protests in the capital, Tehran, late January 5.
There has been a large police presence in Tehran to prevent gatherings from turning into larger protests.
Students Arrested
At least 90 students are among hundreds of people arrested across Iran since the unrest began over a week ago, according to reformist parliamentarian Mahmud Sadeghi, via ILNA news agency.
Most of the students have been arrested in Tehran (58), Shiraz (8), Hamadan (4) and Kermanshah (4), according to Sadeghi.
Pro-government Rallies
Iran's state broadcaster has showed pro-government rallies in several cities, including in Amol, in the northern province of Mazandaram, with hundreds of people waving the Iranian flag and chanting slogans against the U.S. and Israel.
Other pro-government demonstrations were held in Shahin Dezh, in West Azarbaijan Province; the city of Semnan, in the northern Semnan Province; and Shadegan, in the southern Khuzestan Province.