Iran holds pro-govt rallies as new protests break out

DUBAI: Annual nationwide pro-government rallies were held in Iran on Saturday to mark the end of unrest which shook the country in 2009, state media reported, while local news agency and social media reports said a third day of protests had begun.

State television showed a rally in the capital Tehran and marchers carrying banners in support of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city.

Pro-government rallies were scheduled in more than 1,200 cities and towns, state television said, events held annually to mark the end of months of street protests which followed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s re-election as president in 2009. At the same time, social media postings said a third day of protests broke out in cities including Tehran, Shahr-e Kord and Kermanshah, where a video showed dozens of protesters booing after police announced on a loudspeaker that any gathering would be illegal.

The footage could not be authenticated. The semi-official news agency Fars said up to 70 students gathered in front of Tehran University and hurled rocks at police.

A social media video showed them chanting "Death to the dictator", in an apparent reference to Khamenei.

There is discontent over unemployment, rising prices and alleged corruption. The protests have also turned political over issues including the Islamic Republic’s involvement in regional conflicts such as those in Syria and Iraq.

Unemployment has risen and annual inflation is running at about 8 percent, with shortages of some foods also leading to higher prices. Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli issued a warning against promoting protests online.

"We ask people not to take part in unlawful gatherings, if they plan a gathering they should apply for a permit, and it will be examined," Rahmani-Fazli told the Young Journalists Club news website.

On Thursday, hundreds of people took to the streets in Mashhad to protest against high prices and shouted anti-government slogans. Police arrested 52 people, according to a judicial official.