Iran says no leniency for 'rioters' as protests persist
Iran's judiciary will not show leniency to "rioters" despite acknowledging the public's right to protest. These demonstrations, sparked by economic issues, have spread across the country. The US has warned Iran of severe consequences if more demonstrators are killed. Meanwhile, Israel expresses solidarity with the Iranian people's aspirations for freedom. Protests are being closely monitored.
Paris: Iran will offer no leniency to "rioters", though the public has a right to demonstrate, the head of the country's judiciary said on Monday, following more than a week of sometimes-deadly protests.
The remarks came after US President Donald Trump warned Iran would "get hit very hard by the United States" if the authorities killed more demonstrators.
The protests began on December 28 when shopkeepers in Tehran staged a strike over high prices and economic stagnation, but they have since spread to other places and expanded to include political demands.
"I instruct the attorney general and prosecutors across the country to act in accordance with the law and with resolve against the rioters and those who support them... and to show no leniency or indulgence," Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei said, according to the judiciary's Mizan news agency.
He went on to add that Iran "listens to the protesters and their criticism, and distinguishes between them and rioters".
Demonstrations have taken place in 25 of Iran's 31 provinces and affected, to varying degrees, at least 45 different cities, most of them small or medium-sized and concentrated in the west, according to an AFP tally based on official statements and media reports.
At least 12 people have been killed since December 30 in localised clashes, including members of the security forces, according to official announcements.
Since the protests began, officials have publicly struck a conciliatory tone when it comes to protesters' economic demands, while vowing to take a hard line against any chaos or destabilisation.
Iran's economy has been hit hard by tough international sanctions, with the national currency, the rial, losing more than a third of its value against the US dollar over the past year and inflation in double digits.
On Sunday, the government announced a monthly allowance for every citizen to alleviate economic pressure, equivalent to around 3.5 percent of the average monthly wage.
The reformist newspaper Arman Melli said Monday that the authorities had "heard the voices of the protesters", while the conservative papers Javan and Kayhan accused the United States and Israel of financially supporting rioters.
Watching 'very closely'
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said the US was watching the situation "very closely".
"If they start killing people like they have in the past, I think they're going to get hit very hard by the United States," he said on Sunday.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, said his country stood "in solidarity with the struggle of the Iranian people and with their aspirations for freedom".
On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei said at a press conference attended by AFP journalists that Israel was trying "to exploit the slightest opportunity to sow division and undermine our national unity".