• Iran, two dead and several injured in high-petrol crashes

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17 November 2019Four people were arrested in the Iranian city of Yazd after a confrontation with the police during the protests against the high price of petrol. The semi-official press agency Isna reported this. The forty arrested are accused of having carried out acts of vandalism and most of them are not local people, reports Isna, citing the provincial prosecutor Mohammad Hadadzadeh.

Khamenei: "I support the government in decisions on petrol"
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has sided with the Iranian government, which is facing a revolt in the country against the increase in petrol and fuel rationing. "I am not an expert - he said, according to what the Iranian television channel reported - but if these decisions are taken by the leaders of the institutions, I support them". The population's anger exploded after the authorities announced measures from which government revenues are expected - estimated between 300 and 310 thousand billion rial (2.55 billion dollars a year) - which will be or redistributed to families in difficulty . The measure appears aimed at countering the repercussions of the sanctions reintroduced by the US, after the withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear agreement, of 2015. Fab

"Damaging and burning (public goods) is not something that people should do, it is hooliganism," added Khamenei, renewing the call to the order already arrived yesterday by the country's authorities. It was the Interior Minister, Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, who warned that security forces would restore order if those protesting against rising gas prices "damage public property". "So far the security forces have shown restraint and tolerated the protests," he said speaking from state television. "But - he added - as calm and security of people are our priority, they will fulfill their duty to restore calm if attacks on public and private property continue".

Limited internet access
The Iranian authorities have "limited public access to the Internet last night and for the next 24 hours". This was stated by the Isna agency, confirming what had already been taken over by Netblocks yesterday, a site that monitors global online traffic. The decision was taken by the Supreme Council for National Security, reported a source in the Ministry of Telecommunications, following the dissemination of films which, according to the authorities, exaggerate the size of the ongoing protest against the increase in petrol and the fuel rationing.