First Vice President Rouhani on Mashhad Protests: Economic Issues are a Pretext

Simultaneously with the support of the Imam of Mashhad for the police's handling of protesters in several cities of Razavi Khorasan province, the First Vice President of Iran implicitly attributed the organization of these protests to government opponents, stating that "those who initiate street movements will not be the ones to end them." According to ISNA news agency, Es'hagh Jahangiri, the First Vice President of Iran, said in a speech on Friday, January 8, that "economic issues have become a pretext for some matters. There are other issues behind the scenes." He added: "Those who are the cause of some actions against the government should know that the smoke from their actions will come back to them. When a political movement starts in the streets, others will ride on it, and those who started that movement will not be the ones to end it." No political group in Iran had issued an official call to participate in the protests on Thursday in the cities of Razavi Khorasan province. However, some social media users and political activists had announced that the initial call for yesterday's protests in the cities of Razavi Khorasan province was issued by some conservative groups opposing President Hassan Rouhani. In contrast, some reformist figures, including Mahmoud Sadqi, a member of parliament, emphasized that these protests are "a reaction to the disarray and shortcomings in the overall management and governance system of the country over various periods" and that "instead of trying to extinguish and politicize it, we should listen to the people's voice and find solutions for it." According to media reports and social media, the cities of Mashhad, Nishapur, Kashmar in Razavi Khorasan province, and Shahrud in Semnan province witnessed protests titled "No to Inflation" on Thursday. Based on some videos circulated on social media, the protest in Mashhad turned violent following the police's response, with officers using water cannons and tear gas to disperse the protesters. Slogans shouted by attendees included: "Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life is for Iran," "Death to the dictator," "Think of us, leave Syria," "Rise up, Iranian youth," "Rest in peace, Reza Shah," "What a mistake I made by revolting," "Death to Rouhani," "Thieves are looting, the government is supporting them," "You have made Islam a step, you have exhausted the people." Meanwhile, Ahmad Alamolhoda, the Imam of Mashhad, criticized the participants of the protest who "accepted the invitation of an unknown authority and came to the streets," without providing details about this "unknown authority." He added: "If security and police forces leave the rioters alone, enemies will claim through their media, with the release of videos and photos, that the Islamic Republic has lost its revolutionary base in Mashhad." According to Hassan Heydari, head of the Revolutionary Court in Mashhad, 52 people were arrested during the protest on Thursday in this city. Meanwhile, some websites reported that police fired at the protesters. However, the governor of Mashhad stated that "the news of police shooting at this protest is strongly denied and has no connection to this protest, but we used tear gas to disperse the crowd from that location." Mohammad Rahim Noorouziyan accused some protesters of "destroying public property of the municipality and city buses." In the weeks leading up to the protest on Thursday in Razavi Khorasan province, several depositors of financial institutions had repeatedly protested in various cities across Iran. In this context, 52 people were arrested during the protest in Mashhad.