Khamenei supports fuel price hikes and accuses "enemies and counterrevolution" of being behind the protests

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has reiterated his support for the decision to increase the price of gasoline, which led to protests across the country, and stressed the need to implement it, but urged officials to deal carefully in this regard, so as not to affect citizens.

Khamenei said the riots and sabotage were behind enemies and opponents of the revolution. did that".

"I am not an expert and there are different opinions, but I said that if the leaders of the three branches make a decision, I support it," state television quoted Khamenei as saying, following a decision last Friday by the Supreme Council for Economic Coordination, made up of the head of state, the head of the Shura Council and the head of the judiciary. .

Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said earlier that anyone targeting public and private property would be strictly dealt with, stressing that any protests should be within the law.

He spoke of attacking official buildings, hospitals and banks in several governorates, pointing out that the situation in its current form is not in favor of any party.

Dead and arrests
Local media reported renewed protests on Saturday night in several areas against the authorities' decision to raise gasoline prices. The provisional governor of the city of Sirjan also announced the death of one person in the protests, while local sites reported three deaths in the city of Khorramshahr.

Local media reported that security forces arrested a number of leaders of the protests in the city of Mashhad, as well as sixty others in the city of Sari.

Friday and Saturday protests included the capital Tehran, Ahvaz, Khorramshahr, Birjand, Mashhad, Sirjan, Bandar Abbas, Isfahan, Shiraz, and the provinces of West and East Azerbaijan, and two border crossings with Iraq were closed.

According to Reuters, the demonstrations that took place in about forty cities and towns witnessed chants against senior officials.

Earlier last year, Iran witnessed protests over the price hikes, which suffer from severe inflation and high unemployment and economic stagnation under the tight sanctions imposed by Washington.

Iran has begun rationing gasoline distribution, raising prices by at least 50 percent from Friday, saying the move was aimed at raising funds to help people in need and tackle fuel smuggling.

Under the plan approved by the Supreme Economic Coordination Council on Saturday, those who own a fuel card will have to pay 15,000 Iranian rials ($ 0.13) per liter for the first 60 liters they buy each month, with each additional liter calculated at around 30,000 rials. The subsidized price per liter was 10,000 riyals.

Fuel cards were first introduced in 2007 in an effort to reform the government's fuel subsidy system and end widespread smuggling.