Iranian students have staged street protests in Tehran after shopkeepers in the capital began demonstrations this week over economic hardship, with the country's chief prosecutor vowing that any attempt to sow instability would be met with a "decisive response."
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz on Tuesday said Washington supported those taking to the streets. "The people of Iran want freedom. They have suffered at the hands of the Ayatollahs for too long," he said on X.
"We stand with Iranians in the streets of Tehran and across the country as they protest a radical regime that has brought them nothing but economic downturn and war," he added.
Iran's prosecutor Mohammad Movahedi Azad blamed international sanctions and media campaigns for the protests, Irna reported. He also warned against economic protests being turned into "a tool of insecurity".
"Any attempt to turn economic protests into a tool of insecurity, destruction of public property, or implementation of externally designed scenarios will inevitably be met with a legal, proportionate and decisive response," he warned.
The student protests on Tuesday spread to about 10 universities across the country, including seven in Tehran, said the Ilna news agency, which is associated with the country's labour movement.
Demonstrations al
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