Anti-government demonstrations that began in Iran on Thursday have now spread to several major cities.Large numbers reportedly turned out in Rasht, in the north, and Kermanshah, in the west, with smaller protests in Isfahan, Hamadan and elsewhere, BBC News reports.The protests began against rising prices but have spiraled into a general outcry against clerical rule and government policies.
A small number of people have been arrested in Tehran, the capital.
They were among a group of 50 people who gathered in a city square, Tehran’s deputy governor-general for security affairs told the Iranian Labour News Agency.
The US State Department condemned the arrests and urged “all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption”.
What is behind the unrest?
The protests were initially against economic conditions and corruption but appear to have turned political.
Slogans have been chanted against not just Mr Rouhani but Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and clerical rule in general.
Demonstrators were reportedly heard yelling slogans like “The people are begging, the clerics act like God”. Protests have even been held in Qom, a holy city home to powerful clerics.
There is also anger at Iran’s interventions abroad. In Mashhad, some chanted “not Gaza, not Lebanon, my life for Iran”, a reference to what protesters say is the administration’s focus on foreign rather than domestic issues.