[ad_1]
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Gunfire erupted as Iranian security forces clashed with demonstrators on Sunday in the midst of water scarcity in the south of the country, although authorities said that they had been killed. only one person was injured in the clashes. 650 kilometers southwest of Tehran, while residents of the predominantly Arab city near the Iraqi border complain of salt and muddy water that escapes from their faucets in the middle of. a drought that has been going on for years
. The economic crisis caused by President Donald Trump's decision to pull America out of Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers broke out on Friday in Khorramshahr, Abadan and other parts of the province. Khuzestan, rich in oil. The demonstrations were initially peaceful, with protesters chanting in Arabic and Farsi.
But on Saturday night and early Sunday morning, protesters started throwing rocks and confronting security forces in Khorramshahr, according to widely shared online videos. State television broadcast images of rocks and broken glbad covering the sidewalks, as well as ATMs. Women and children fled, echoing shots.
Heavy gunfire was heard in a video showing protesters trailing a man who could not walk. Another video seems to show a man carrying a Kalashnikov rifle on the back of a motorcycle near protesters.
State television reported Sunday afternoon that "peace had returned" to Khorramshahr and that an unspecified number of protesters had been arrested. He said some protesters carried guns during the unrest.
It is unclear what triggered the violence. Iran's Interior Minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, told reporters that there had been no deaths and that one person had been injured. "These protests are directed by the propaganda of opportunists places and people we consider enemies," said Fazli. "You observe how they fuel such incidents in the foreign media and in cyberspace these days."
Khorramshahr and the wider province of Khuzestan have seen bomb attacks by Arab separatists in the past. Tens of thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed in the province during the war between Iran and Iraq in the 1980s.
The aggravation of these disorders is due to the drought. The Iranian Meteorological Organization estimates that 97% of the country has suffered a form of drought. Analysts also blame the government's mismanagement for diverting water from some farmers to others.
"Although Iran has experienced periods of drought, Iran has experienced its most prolonged and severe drought for over 30 years." According to a recent report from the Organization UN Food and Agriculture Organization, some 230 people were poisoned in Khuzestan Province after a 20 – hour water failure in the Ramhormoz district, which was not cleared. The Fars News Agency reported on Sunday the demonstrations did not appear to be related to the poisoning
The protests occurred after three days of protests last week in Tehran including protesters confronted with police in front of parliament and police firing tear gas at protesters rallies led to the temporary closure of the city's Grand Bazaar
Anger is fueled by the Iranian rial plunging at 90,000 dirhams llars – double the government rate of 42,000 – while people see their savings decrease and traders keep property.
Similar economic events tormented Iran and spread to some 75 cities at the end of last year, becoming the country's biggest protests since the months-long rallies that followed. Contentious presidential election of 2009. At least 25 people were killed and nearly 5,000 arrested during demonstrations in late December and early January, which took place mainly in the Iranian provinces rather than in the capital.
The economic crisis was fueled by Trump's decision. on the 2015 nuclear deal and reinstate the sanctions. International firms that have signed multi-billion agreements with Iran have pulled out, while the United States is asking its allies to stop buying Iranian oil.
Iran's first vice president Eshaq Jahangiri mocked the United States to increase oil production to lower world oil prices. Trump said Saturday that Saudi Arabia could increase its output by some 2 million barrels of oil a day after a call with King Salman. Saudi Arabia then acknowledged the call, but did not mention the claim of 2 million barrels of Trump.
"If a country tries to take the place of Iran on the oil market in this battle, we will consider this a great betrayal towards the Iranian nation and the world community and they will surely pay for this betrayal a day, "said Jahangiri, without elaborating.
___
Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at https://twitter.com/jongambrellAP. His work can be found at http://apne.ws/2galNpz.
Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This document may not be published, distributed, rewritten or redistributed.
[ad_2]
Source link
