Anti-government demonstrations grip Iran, several arrested

What started as a small scale dissent by a group of people in Mashhad, on Thursday, soon spread to other cities too and later swept the nation.

Demonstrators took to the streets in the national capital Tehran, in Rasht, in the north, and Kermanshah, in the west.

Cities like Isfahan, Hamadan also witnessed anti-government sloganeering.

Dissenters were not only protesting against Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his political failures, but also against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Slogans such as 'clerics act like God' were heard.

Protesters also blamed the government for Iran's economic woes and said that people have been 'forced to beg'.

Issues about Iran's constant meddling in other nation's interests were also brought up by demonstrators.

To curb the sting of the dissent, over 52 people were picked up by law enforcement officers, who accused the protesters of using harsh words against the country's President.

Meanwhile, First Vice-President of Iran, Eshaq Jahangiri said that the protests were of the opponent's making

According to state broadcaster IRIB, Jahangiri said, "Some incidents in the country these days are on the pretext of economic problems, but it seems there is something else behind them. They think by doing this they harm the government, but it will be others who ride the wave."

Reacting to the Iranian protests, US President Donald Trump tweeted, "Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime’s corruption & its squandering of the nation’s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people’s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtests"