Middle East

Iran security forces clash with students at bus crash protest

Security forces clashed with students in Iran on Monday in the third day of protests over a deadly bus crash, online videos showed, adding to officials fears that rising public unrest could threaten national security.

President Hassan Rouhani has ordered an investigation into the accident at Tehrans Azad University that killed 10 students last week. Students have protested over the ageing transport fleet and lack of accountability from the authorities.

A video on Twitter showed students at a campus in Tehran chanting slogans and demanding the resignation of the chairman of the universitys board of trustees, Ali Akbar Velayati, an aide to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the videos.

No permit

Tehrans deputy governor, Abdolazim Rezaie, was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency that the protests were illegal as no permit had been issued for any gathering. He said the police had full control of the streets and no arrests had been made.

In recent months, Iran has experienced demonstrations in different cities as factory workers, teachers, truck drivers and farmers protested against economic hardship and corruption.

Ayatollah Sadeq Larijani, the chief of Irans hardline judiciary, warned on Monday of a possible repeat of the 2009 protests, Irans biggest unrest in the last two decades. “The workers and students have legitimate demands … but they should be vigilant not to advance the enemies goals,” Larijani was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.

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Last Update: Monday, 31 December 2018 KSA 20:54 – GMT 17:54

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