This video appears to show security forces on motorcycles in the city of Khorramabad, capital of Lorestan Province, where antigovernment protesters have staged rallies for days.
Prominent Reformists Reject Claims Of Foreign Interference In Protests
Story by RFE/RL's Radio Farda:
Following repeated claims by Iranian officials that recent protests have been organized or instigated by foreigners, sixteen prominent reformist figures in Iran have issued a statement rejecting the claim.
In the January 6 statement the activists say, “Despite the fact the enemies of the country always try to take advantage of such events, but we should know that any kind of foreign interference will not be possible without the existence of internal conditions”.
The signatories of the statement also maintain that focus on external interference, “in addition to being an insult to the people, leads to negligence toward the real causes of the protests” and an effective response to them.
At the same time these reformists have strongly condemned “American interference” and “especially that of its president” in the internal affairs of Iran.
Most of the signatories are former officials or members of parliament from the time of President Mohammad Khatami, who tried to institute reforms in the late 1990s, but was boxed in by the Supreme Leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his conservative followers. Almost all have been arrested and imprisoned since then or have politically motivated legal cases pending.
President Hassan Rouhani, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Supreme National Security Council and other officials have accused the U.S., Israel and Saudi Arabia of organizing or instigating the current protests.
Israel has rejected interference in Iran’s internal affairs and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called Rouhani’s accusation “a lie and laughable”.
The protests have engulfed more than 101 cities and towns in Iran, which makes the claims of foreign instigation far-fetched.
The statement of reformists says that although economic condition played a role in protests, but more democracy, rule of law and accountability are needed to rescue the economy.
Iranians visiting Armenia's capital, Yerevan, spoke on January 5 about the series of antigovernment protests across Iran in the past week. Interviews by RFE/RL's Armenian Service.
Videos have appeared on social media in recent days appearing to show relatives of detainees gathering outside prisons seeking information about the fate of their loved ones.
This video purportedly shows people singing and staying warm outside Tehran's Evin prison late January 5.
Summary of developments on January 6
Thousands of pro-government Iranians have rallied in cities across the country for a fourth day in a show of support for the clerical leadership, while antigovernment protests reportedly continued in at least nine cities across the country, including the capital, Tehran.
Amid a backdrop of diplomatic maneuvering, state television showed footage of January 6 rallies that were held in cities including Amol, Semnan, and Shadegan, with government supporters waving Iranian flags and chanting "Death to America," "Death to Israel," and "Death to Britain."
More than a week of unrest has seen 22 people die and more than 1,700 arrested, according to reports, in the biggest antigovernment protests for nearly a decade.
Various Iranian officials said on January 6 that hundreds of detainees -- including many students and other young people -- had been released, some after agreeing to sign a pledge not to "re-offend," the semiofficial ISNA news agency reported.
Meanwhile, the Iranian parliament has called a special session for January 7 to discuss the antigovernment protests in dozens of towns and cities that have rocked the country daily since December 28.
The session, which was called by a reformist faction of lawmakers, is to look at the causes of the unrest. it is due to begen at 9 a.m. local time (6:30 a.m. Prague time).
ISNA said the interior minister, chief of Iran's intelligence agency, and security council head are scheduled to attend the closed-door parliament meeting.
Requests by reformists that protesters who have been jailed should have access to legal assistance is also due to be discussed.
The unrest continued in the capital at night on January 5-6, with social media footage showing gatherings in Tehran despite a large police presence.
RFE/RL’s Radio Farda also obtained credible reports on January 6 from sources in Iran about overnight demonstrations against Iran's clerical rulers in Takestan, Arak, Masjed Soleiman, Mashhad, Qazvin, Rasht, Lahijan, and Khomein, the birthplace of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.
In a rebuke to Iranian government claims that the widespread demonstrations had been organized and/or instigated by foreigners, a group of 16 prominent reformist figures living in Iran issued a statement rejecting that claim.
That concludes our live-blogging of the Iran protests for Saturday, January 6, 2018. Check back here tomorrow for more of our continuing coverage.
Iran's Parliament Holds Special Meeting On Antigovernment Protests
From AFP:
The Iranian parliament held a closed-door meeting on January 7 to discuss the deadly protests that hit the country last week, while more pro-regime rallies were held in several cities.
Lawmakers interrogated Interior Minister Abdolrahmani Rahmani Fazli, Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi and secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani, parliament's ICANA website reported.
Some voiced concern over the internet controls put in place during the unrest, including a ban on Iran's most popular messaging app, Telegram, which officials said had been used to incite violence.
"The parliament is not in favour of keeping Telegram filtering in place, but it must pledge that it will not be used as a tool by the enemies of the Iranian people," Behrouz Nemati, spokesman for the parliament's presiding board, wrote on Instagram, which was also temporarily blocked during the unrest.
Many Iranians use Telegram as their main source of news and a way of bypassing the highly restrictive state media, with almost a third of Iran's 80 million people using the app daily.
Some 9,000 online businesses have been disrupted by the blocking, semi-official news agency ISNA reported, quoting a report by the culture ministry's digital media center.