Iran’s Pezeshkian pledges economic overhaul amid spiralling protests

President Masoud Pezeshkian strikes conciliatory code successful interrogation broadcast connected authorities TV but accuses US and Israel of fuelling unrest that has killed dozens.

President Masoud Pezeshkian has pledged to overhaul Iran’s struggling economy, saying his authorities is “ready to perceive to its people” aft 2 weeks of progressively convulsive nationwide demonstrations.

Pezeshkian adopted a conciliatory attack during a televised interrogation connected authorities tv connected Sunday, saying his embattled medication was determined to resoluteness the country’s economical problems portion accusing the United States and Israel of fomenting deadly unrest.

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The situation erupted aft the Iranian currency plummeted successful precocious December aft years of economical duress, triggering wide protests implicit soaring surviving costs and inflation. Those protests person since taken connected a much governmental and antigovernment nature.

The president accused the US and Israel of trying to “sow chaos and disorder” by directing elements of the unrest and called connected Iranians to region themselves from what helium described arsenic “rioters and terrorists”.

The demonstrations are the largest successful Iran since a 2022-2023 protestation question spurred by the decease successful custody of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly violating the strict formal codification for women.

“People person concerns. We should beryllium with them, and if it is our duty, we should resoluteness their concerns,” Pezeshkian said. “But the higher work is not to let a radical of rioters to travel and destruct the full society.”

Tohid Asadi, Al Jazeera’s analogous successful Tehran, said Iranian officials had spent the past week trying to gully a favoritism betwixt protesters and what they described arsenic foreign-trained rioters.

Asadi added that elder officials had acknowledged nationalist choler arsenic justified, citing “soaring prices, precocious ostentation and the drastic devaluation of the section currency that close present puts a immense magnitude of unit connected the pockets of section people”.

State media reported that 109 information unit person been killed during the protests.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf reinforced a favoritism betwixt peaceful and equipped demonstrators during remarks to lawmakers connected Sunday, saying Iran recognised “people’s peaceful protests implicit economical concerns” but would basal against “terrorists”.

A erstwhile Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander, Qalibaf besides issued a stark informing to Washington aft US President Donald Trump threatened subject enactment if Iranian authorities termination demonstrators.

“In the lawsuit of an onslaught connected Iran, the occupied territories [Israel] arsenic good arsenic each US bases and ships volition beryllium our morganatic target,” helium said arsenic immoderate lawmakers reportedly chanted anti-American slogans.

Trump had declared connected societal media that the US stood “ready to help” Iran, suggesting imaginable strikes but ruling retired crushed troops. His comments represented a important escalation arsenic Tehran faces its astir superior home situation successful years.

The Ministry of Interior claimed the unrest is subsiding arsenic Iran’s lawyer wide warned participants they could look superior punishment. A nationwide net blackout has persisted for much than 60 hours, according to monitoring groups.

Human rights organisations reported astatine slightest 51 protesters person been killed by information forces, including 9 children, with hundreds much injured and wide arrests conducted crossed the country.