Anti-govt protests continue in several cities of Iran

At least two people have been killed and dozens arrested since protests broke out Thursday in the city of Masshad and spread to Tehran and other cities. An official in Tehran said that 200 people were arrested during the protests in the Iranian capital, the semi-official ILNA news agency reported. Iran has restricted social networks used to organise protests. The temporary restrictions on the apps Telegram and Instagram were imposed to maintain tranquillity, state news agency Irib reports. 

Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said that Iranian citizens were completely free to express their criticism of the government or stage protests in a way that would lead to the improvement of the country's conditions but must not



jeopardise security. Speaking at a cabinet session, the President acknowledged that there were problems that needed to be solved but warned that violence would not be tolerated. 

US ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley has said Iran's government is being tested by its own citizens after three days of protests in the country. In a statement, she said pray that freedom and human rights will carry the day. 

The protests began in the north-east as an outcry against economic hardship and rising prices but turned political in many places, with slogans chanted against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr Rouhani and Iran's interventionist foreign policy in the region.