Iran Says Pro-Government Rally to Show who 'Real' Iranians are

• 11.25.2019, 16:51
•  Region,  World

US news

A pro-government rally planned in Tehran on Monday will show the world who the "real" Iranians are, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said, voicing surprise over foreign statements of support for protesters angered by a decision to hike gasoline prices, Reuters reports.

The protests grew into a wave of anti-government unrest that saw at least 100 banks and dozens of buildings torched in the worst violence at least since Iran put down a "Green Revolution" in 2009, when dozens were killed over several months.

Iran has blamed "thugs" linked to exiles and foreign foes - the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia - for stirring up the street unrest.

After days of state-sponsored marches in dozens of cities to condemn the unrest, Iran is holding a pro-government rally in the capital to be addressed by the commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, which helped quell the unrest.

"I recommend they (foreign countries) look at the marches today, to see who the real people in Iran are and what they are saying," Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried by state television.

"We recognize the right to peaceful assembly...But the situation is different for rioters ... and groups which take direction (from abroad) and are armed."

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Iranian protesters on Twitter last week to send the United States any photos or videos of the crackdown of protests. "The United States will publicize and condemn the persecution of protesters," he said.

The French government said on Wednesday it was deeply concerned by reports of many deaths during protests in Iran and called on Tehran to respect its international human rights duties.

Rights group Amnesty International said last week that security forces shot into crowds of protesters from rooftops and, in one case, from a helicopter.