Thousands rally in support of government in Iran

ISTANBUL (AA) - Thousands of people took to the streets across Iran on Saturday in a show of support for the regime in the wake of a two-day anti-government protests across the country.

According to local media reports, government supporters in major cities, including capital Tehran called on the regime to comply with the economic recommendations of the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei.

Speaking at a ceremony in the Grand Musalla Mosque in Tehran, Mahmoud Araki, a member of the Experts Assembly of Khamenei, said Iran was in an economic war with the West and the government of Hassan Rouhani should apply Khamenei's "Resistance Economy" program with greater determination.

Similar calls also came from pro-government rallies in Iran’s second-largest city of Mashhad, which was the center of anti-government protests.

Footage on local media showed that attendance at rallies in Tehran, Mashhad and elsewhere to mark the anniversary of the end of "the sedition" -- the last major unrest that followed disputed elections in 2009 -- was well below expectations.

Meanwhile, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani, warned the public not to participate in "unauthorized" demonstrations.

"Our security forces and our judiciary have tried with maximum sensitivity to manage the events as well as to prevent the incidents from becoming larger," Rahmani said in a statement to the Javan newspaper.

He also noted that application for the permission of all kinds of gatherings should be made through the judiciary and governorate.

- US interference criticized

“Our request to the public, do not create a problem for yourself as well as for the others by joining unauthorized rallies."

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Behram Kasimi accused the U.S. President Donald Trump and the U.S. State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert of interfering with Iranian internal affairs by their statements about the anti-government demonstrations.

Stating that the people of Iran are the greatest supporters of the country's security and future, Kasimi said his country had a "strong democratic structure and constitution" in order to fulfill the demands of the people.

Trump tweeted on Saturday that the “Iranian government should respect their people’s rights, including the right to express themselves. The world is watching!”

In a statement on Friday, Nauert said: “Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed, and chaos.”

Nauert also added that they closely followed the anti-government demonstrations in the country and that the U.S. strongly condemned the arrests of protesters.

Thousands of Iranians hit the streets in northeastern cities on Thursday to protest rising commodity prices and perceived government mismanagement. The protest then turned into a nationwide anti-government demonstration.

The Iranian Students News Agency quoted Mashhad Governor Mohammad Rahim Norouzian as saying that police had eventually dispersed the protests while 52 demonstrators had been taken into custody.