INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sporadic protests have simmered ahead of the reimposition of US sanctions
(Representational)Tehran, Iran: Iranian protesters have attacked a religious school in Karaj province near Tehran, the conservative Fars
news agency reported Saturday, as sporadic protests simmered ahead of the reimposition of US sanctions.Iranian authorities have barely
mentioned days of protests in the major cities of Isfahan, Shiraz, Mashhad and Tehran, driven by concerns over water, the economy and wider
anger at the political system.During past unrest, conservative outlets have focused on attacks against sensitive symbols such as religious
buildings as a way of tarnishing protesters."At 9:00 pm (1630 GMT on Friday) they attacked the school and tried to break the doors down and
burn things," Fars quoted the head of the school in the town of Ishtehad, Hojatoleslam Hindiani, as saying, giving only his clerical rank
and no first name."They were about 500 people and they chanted against the system but they were dispersed by the riot police and some have
been arrested," Hindiani said.Fars acknowledged protests have taken place in "five or six cities" since Tuesday over water shortages, rising
prices and joblessness, with "about 1,000 or 2,000 people" taking part. But it said these peaceful protests were taken over by people "who
come into the crowd with political slogans such as 'Death to the dictator'". It said this was part of a pre-planned plot by the US, Israel
and Saudi Arabia to exploit economic tensions inside Iran.Because foreign media are barred from observing "unauthorised" protests, it has
been impossible to verify any of these claims or the videos of protests spreading on social media. Clerical oppositionWith tensions high
ahead of the return of US sanctions on Tuesday, the government of President Hassan Rouhani also faces opposition from conservatives and
religious leaders, who have long disliked his outreach to the West and accuse him of governing only for the rich. The conservative Qom News
published a video of a protest in the holy city of Mashhad after Friday prayers, in which a cleric tells the crowd: "Most of your
representatives don't care about people's problems. "Most have two passports and their families are abroad
The judiciary should find these people and arrest them," the cleric says, to chants of "Allahu akbar" ("God is greater") from the
crowd.Former hardline president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has fallen out with the conservative establishment since leaving office in 2013,
has tried to ride this wave of anger.In a Wednesday Twitter post, he called on US President Donald Trump to release a list of "relatives of
Iranian government officials that have green cards and bank accounts in the United States", if such a record exists. Sanctions return So
far, social media reports suggest the current protests are far from the scale of the unrest seen in December and January, when at least 25
people were killed in demonstrations that spread to dozens of towns and cities.There were allegations at the time that they had been sparked
by conservative opponents of Rouhani in Mashhad before quickly spiralling out of hand. But all Iranians are concerned about the struggling
economy, especially since the United States walked out of the nuclear deal in May and announced it would reimpose full sanctions in two
stages.The first phase hits on Tuesday with blocks on financial transactions and imports of raw materials, as well as sanctions on Iran's
automotive sector and commercial aircraft purchases. Iran Air announced it would take delivery of five ATR aircraft from the French-Italian
firm on Sunday, sneaking under the wire before the sanctions return. Iran says the sanctions are endangering lives by blocking the sale of
new planes and spare parts for its ageing fleets. Iran's Aseman Airlines was ordered to ground its fleet of ATR planes in February after
one of them crashed in the Zagros mountains, killing all 66 people onboard. Remaining sanctions -- including on Iran's oil and gas sector
and central bank -- will resume on November 5.Although smaller foreign firms have vowed to work around the US measures, multinationals such
as France's Total and Peugeot, and Germany's Siemens have already said they will have to pull out. It is not yet clear how all this will
affect ordinary Iranians, but a European diplomat in Tehran who monitors the economy said prices of basic foods were already creeping up.She
said the collapse in the rial, which has lost more than half its value since April, was driven by people rushing to secure their savings in
dollars because they lack faith in the government."There is a massive loss of confidence in the financial system and the government's
ability to control things and withstand sanctions," she told AFP. (Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
