On fourth day of Iran protests, in the northeastern city of Mashhad, protesters chanted: “Khamenei, have some shame, and leave the country alone!”In Tehran, according to wire reports, police used water cannon to try to disperse demonstrators gathering in Ferdowsi Square in the center of the capital, citing video footage posted on social media.Video posted online also showed a clash between protesters and police in the city of Khoramdareh in Zanjan province in the country’s northwest. There were also reports of protests in Sanandaj and Kermanshah cities in western Iran.A semi-official news agency in Iran reported that police arrested around 200 people during protests in Tehran on Saturday.The ILNA news agency report on Sunday quoted Ali Asghar Nasserbakht, a security deputy governor of Tehran, offering the figure….He also said that around 40 leaders were arrested.
Iranians are free to protest against the government but must not jeopardise security, President Hassan Rouhani has said after four days of demonstrations.Speaking at a cabinet session, he acknowledged that there were problems that needed to be solved but warned that violence would not be tolerated.The protests have been the biggest show of dissent since huge rallies in 2009.There have been clashes in several cities, and Iran has restricted social networks used to organise protests.The “temporary” restrictions on the apps Telegram and Instagram were imposed to “maintain tranquillity”, state news agency Irib reports.The protests began in the north-east as an outcry against economic hardship and rising prices, but turned political in many places, with slogans chanted against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mr Rouhani and Iran’s interventionist foreign policy in the region.In his latest tweet on the issue, US President Donald Trump said that Iranians were “finally getting wise as to how their money and wealth is being stolen and squandered on terrorism”.In his first public comments, Mr Rouhani criticised Mr Trump.“This gentleman in America, who is now trying to sympathise with our nation, appears to have forgotten that he called the Iranian nation terrorists several months ago,” he was reported to have said.“This man, who is an enemy of the Iranian nation from the top of his head to his very toes, has no right to sympathise with Iranians,” he added….
Israel has formally notified UNESCO of its withdrawal from the education and science organization, joining the U.S.The Israeli government sent its official notice Friday, and it will leave the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization effective Dec. 31, 2018.Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO’s director-general, said she regrets Israel’s decision and believes “it is inside UNESCO and not outside it that States can best seek to overcome differences in the organization’s field of competence.”“A Member of UNESCO since 1949, Israel has a rightful place inside the United Nations agency that is dedicated to education, culture and science,” Azoulay said in a statement. “Inside an institution committed to the defense of freedom of expression, the prevention of all forms of anti-Semitism and racism, which has developed a unique program of education about the Holocaust and the prevention of genocide. Inside an institution that is among the most active in promoting dialogue among cultures, fighting violent extremism and conserving heritage affected, notably, by the destructive acts of terrorist organizations.”Both the U.S. and Israel announced they would be leaving UNESCO in October. In an announcement explaining its decision, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the U.S. would be withdrawing from the organization because of a “continuing anti-Israel bias.”…
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