The protests in Iran, which began due to dissatisfaction with the economic situation, have begun to escalate into riots and pogroms in the northeast of the country, the Iranian news agency Tasnim reports.
„On Friday evening, a local protest by a number of Iranian citizens was held in the city of Borjnourd in North Khorasan province in northeastern Iran due to fluctuations in the rial exchange rate. In several areas, protesters have moved away from economic demands and have turned to rioting,” the statement said.
The number of protesters reportedly did not exceed 100, but they blocked roads, disrupting traffic.
According to Tasnim, groups of armed fighters took to the streets of the city of Serbala in the western province of Eylam. Footage published by the agency showed automatic weapons firing under the slogan “Death to Khamenei!”
Meanwhile, Iran’s Fars news agency noted that the number of peaceful protests had been decreasing since Friday morning, with the protests taking on a distinctly political character. The participants have begun to clash with the police and are increasingly chanting anti-government, pro-monarchy slogans.
The agency writes that the riots are being organized by small groups of people armed with knives, firearms and Molotov cocktails, who are attacking administrative and public buildings, including mosques.
Similar incidents have been recorded in the north of the country, in the Iranian capital Tehran, and also in Karaj, where protesters burned the country's flag and threw stones at passersby, chanting “Death to the dictator!“ and “This is not the last battle - Pahlavi will return!“.
In late December, protests began in Iran over the devaluation of the local currency. The main reason was the sharp fluctuations in the exchange rate and their impact on wholesale and retail prices. Videos of protesters in Tehran and other cities have appeared on social media. The head of Iran's central bank, Mohammad Farzin, has since resigned. Abdolnasser Hemmati took over his post by presidential decree on December 31.
Iran is experiencing high inflation. The rial has been weakening rapidly, hitting several record lows against the dollar in recent months. Before the US withdrew from the nuclear deal in May 2018, the unofficial value of the dollar was around 50,000 rials. The dollar is now worth 1.4 million rials on the open market.