Protests continued in Iranian cities on Sunday evening.

Unrest in Iranian cities continued after Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made statements to calm protesters. According to Iranian officials, the number of arrests in street protests has reached more than 370.

News and videos published on social media indicate that on Sunday evening (December 31), protests continued in Tehran, Damavand, Shahinshahr, Arak, Hamedan, Karaj, Tuyserkan, Maragheh, Izeh, Behshahr, Kermanshah, Sanandaj, Khoy, Aligudarz, and several other cities, and in most cases turned violent with the intervention of security officers.

Iranian news agencies also reported unrest in the cities of Tehran, Karaj, Saveh, Amol, Khorramdareh, Qazvin, Shahr-e Kord, Behshahr, Sari, Tuyserkan, Hamedan, and several other cities.

A video of the “attack on the Imam Ali Basij Battalion base” in Shahinshahr, Isfahan, is being seen on social media. According to the same news, slogans such as “Independence, Freedom, Iranian Republic,” “Death to your deceit, Islamic Republic,” “Death to the dictator,” and “We are dying, we are dying, we will take back Iran” were heard in some cities. Slogans were also raised against Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Video footage shows protesters clashing with police in Kermanshah. In a video released from Maragheh, protesters are seen pulling down the flag of the Islamic Republic from the entrance to the city's governor's office.

A video has also been released in which the narrator says: "This is Behshahr, the security forces are just beating people."

The Raja News website spoke of “several hours of artificial unrest in the center of the capital” and wrote that “the rioters’ firecrackers in Revolution Square and slogans against the people’s sacred things are not an economic protest; they are an American sedition.”

The Tasnim news agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guard Corps, reported gatherings across Tehran that resulted in "calm being restored" with the presence of security forces.

Fars News Agency reported the continuation of street gatherings in various cities, while also writing that despite these gatherings last night, “more calm prevailed in the atmosphere of the country’s cities.” Fars also wrote: “It is reported from Alborz province that the unrest had started in the early hours of tonight, but with the widespread presence of special units and security forces, the atmosphere in the city of Karaj has been brought under control.”

Mohsen Hamedani, deputy security officer for Tehran's governor's office, said that most of the streets and alleys where there had been unrest have returned to a state of calm. He said: "Unfortunately, some profiteers who are identifiable to us were present in some streets and squares and chanted destructive slogans against the system."

Asghar Naserbakht, deputy head of security for the Tehran governor's office, told ILNA news agency that around 200 people have been arrested since Saturday at the intersection of Enghelab and Vali Asr streets. Other officials have also spoken of dozens of other arrests in different cities, bringing the total number of arrests to more than 370.

According to Iranian media reports, Tehran Prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said that the detainees had confessed that they had “become emotional and, given the atmosphere created, carried out actions such as setting fire to mosques and public places.” He added: “The perpetrators of the destructive slogans and the destruction of public property are not ordinary people.”

He considered actions such as calling for rebellion and destroying state property to be crimes requiring severe punishment, and called on judges to be fully prepared and cooperate with the police to prosecute the main perpetrators. He further announced the request of the Tehran Prosecutor's Office to prosecute an individual who "has incited people abroad to commit terrorist acts, set fire to public property, and the like."

Meanwhile, Prince Reza Pahlavi tweeted that the Iranian regime had 38 years to reform and never did. He wrote that the regime “instead squandered the national wealth, dragged Iran into foreign conflicts, and killed tens of thousands of Iranians to maintain its power.”

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has said that he is following the events in Iran with concern and that it is essential that Iranian citizens have the right to peaceful protest.

Former US Secretary of State John Kerry also tweeted about the Iranian protesters: "The right of people to peacefully protest and express their aspirations is a universal right, and governments everywhere must respect it."

The White House has once again issued a statement in support of the protests in Iran. The statement, emphasizing the need to hear the people's voices, states: "We call on all parties to respect the fundamental right to free expression and to refrain from any attempt at censorship."

The White House is referring to the blocking of Telegram and Instagram in Iran. Last night, news from Iranian users indicated that WhatsApp was also restricted.

US President Donald Trump warned in a tweet against human rights abuses in Iran. He wrote that the US and the world are closely watching events in Iran.

Hillary Clinton, Trump's rival in the presidential election, Bernie Sanders, a presidential candidate in the Democratic Party's internal race, and Lindsey Graham, a Republican Senator, have also defended the Iranian people's right to protest freely.

Source: DW