Iran's elite Republican Guard has declared an end to anti-government protests in the country, during which 21 people lost their lives and hundreds were arrested, while mass demonstrations in support of the government were held across the country.
At the same time, Iran complained to the Security Council and UN Secretary General António Guterres about US interference in its internal affairs, trying to downplay the protests against the government and economic difficulties that lasted for almost a week.
These are the largest anti-government protests since 2009 against the then re-election of conservative President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
There were no anti-government demonstrations yesterday. The authorities have blocked social networks Telegram and Instagram, which they say were used to call for protests.
"Today we can announce the end of the rebellion," said the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Mohamad Ali Jafari yesterday, adding that the number of anti-government demonstrators did not exceed 15.000 nationwide.
"A large number of miscreants leading the protests are trained in counter-revolution," Jafari said, referring to the People's Mujahideen, the main opposition group in exile, which Tehran considers a terrorist organization. Al Jafari said that these people have been arrested and that rigorous measures will be taken against them.
Jafari also said the US had trained thousands of people to "incite unrest in Iran".
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei accused Iran's "enemies" of harming the authorities but did not name them, while Iran's President Hassan Rouhani spoke of a "small minority" of protesters.
Tens of thousands of pro-government protesters gathered in dozens of cities yesterday to denounce the unrest that is shaking the country, after a night in Tehran and the interior that was calmer than before.
New demonstrations in support of the authorities and condemnation of the previous days' violence in Isfahan and Mashad are planned for today.
Iranian reformers as well as conservatives have opposed the violence during the demonstrations, emphasizing, however, the need to find solutions to economic problems, especially unemployment, which affects 30 percent of the youth.
Anti-government protests began on December 28 in Iran's second-largest city of Mashhad before spreading. They were marked by attacks on public buildings, and the authorities and media spoke of counter-revolutionaries based abroad, but also mentioned the US, Saudi Arabia as fomenting the protests.
During the large anti-Valda protests that took place from Thursday to Monday night, 21 people died, mostly demonstrators, and hundreds were arrested. 450 of them were arrested in Tehran.
In a letter published yesterday, Iran's representative at the UN, Golamali Koshru, said that the current US administration crossed all borders and violated the rules and principles of international law that guide civilized behavior in international relations.
"In recent days, the US administration led by the US president has increased its interventions in Iran's internal affairs in a grotesque manner under the pretext of supporting sporadic demonstrations," he said.
Since the beginning of the demonstrations, US President Donald Trump has supported the protesters and condemned the authorities, and US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has requested urgent meetings of the UN Security Council and the UN Human Rights Council on Iran.
European countries expressed their concern about the anti-government protests and called for dialogue.
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