AMNA NAWAZ: For the past two weeks, Iranians
have taken to the streets by thousands in
what began as protests denouncing a hike in
gasoline prices.
But the uprising quickly turned political,
with demands that top officials step down.
The Iranian government responded with a five-day
Internet shutdown, so the user-generated video
and accounts that raised awareness of past
demonstrations were blacked out.
We still know little about what's happened.
Yesterday, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei, said the protests were a U.S.-led
plot to destroy the country.
AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, Supreme Leader of
Iran (through translator): It was a deep,
extensive, and very dangerous conspiracy that
cost the United States so much money and effort.
They wanted to use an opportunity to carry
out this move, which was an act of destruction,
arson, murder, and vandalism, under the pretext
of a gasoline price increase.
AMNA NAWAZ: The Internet has been partially
restored.
And special correspondent Reza Sayah joins
us from Tehran, where he's been following
the latest on the ground.
Reza, it's good to see you.
We know connectivity, being able to get any
word out, has been an issue.
So, fill us in.
What is the latest on the ground?
REZA SAYAH: Amna, giving you an update on
the latest here in Iran is still a bit of
a challenge, because many Iranians are just
now getting back online, just now getting
their Internet service back.
The big news today here in Iran Thursday is
that cell phone users are back online, after
being offline for the better part of two weeks.
And it was a lack of Internet connections
for cell phone users that perhaps played the
biggest part in this information blackout
that we saw last week, an information blackout
that made it very difficult, nearly impossible,
for many people to conclusively report on
the magnitude and the scale and the intensity
of the protests.
That said, indications are that the protests
have died down, and when you drive around
Tehran today, nowhere near the security presence
that we saw last week.
AMNA NAWAZ: Reza, let's talk about why these
protests are happening now.
We mentioned that hike in gasoline prices.
Do we have any idea why that decision was
made in the first place?
REZA SAYAH: It's impossible for us to say
why authorities decided that this was the
best time to raise gas prices at a time when
many working-class Iranians are suffering
so much and under so much pressure.
But we can tell you that many Iranian officials
and Iranian analysts have long said that raising
gas prices is the right thing to do for Iran's
economy.
Remember, Iran's gas prices have long been
heavily subsidized.
They're some of the cheapest in the world,
running about 50 cents per gallon.
And officials here say that has led to high
consumption and heavy smuggling, and something
had to be done.
But the fact that they decided to do it now
is perhaps an indication of how much the economy
is struggling, to a point where authorities
had to take a desperate measure, where there
was a backlash.
Then came the Trump administration, who pulled
out of the nuclear deal, reimposed new sanctions.
There was never any foreign investment that
came into Iran.
Oil sales went down significantly.
There was inflation, a devaluation of currency,
unemployment.
And that, many say, led to the government
perhaps making that drastic measure of raising
fuel prices.
So, again, many people argue that the U.S.
sanctions that had a huge role in what happened
last week, but, also, many people argue that
it's these U.S. sanctions that are hurting
average Iranians, and not impacting the government.
And we can also tell you that, when the protests
happened, many groups both inside and outside
Iran tried to take over the narrative.
The hard-liners here blamed the moderates
on the rising fuel prices.
The moderates blamed the hard-liners.
And, in D.C., the Trump administration and
the Iran hawks said the protest and the rising
fuel prices were evidence that the U.S. sanctions
were working.
And on the other hand, the moderate observers
of Iran said that the protests and the rising
gas prices were an indication that the sanctions
were only impacting average Iranians, and
the fact that the government is still in power
was proof that the sanctions were not working.
AMNA NAWAZ: At one point, it was reported
there were protests in more than 100 cities
across the country.
Tell us a little bit about the overall government
response.
Has the scale of these protests shaken them
at all?
REZA SAYAH: All indications are that the government
reacted swiftly, they reacted brutally, and
they reacted with deadly force, perhaps more
deadly force than they have ever used.
Over the past several days, we have heard
a growing number of reports naming individuals
who were allegedly killed by security forces
during the protests.
A lot of names are being posted online, reports
that we can't independently confirm.
We can tell you that Amnesty International
made headlines when they put out a report
that more than 100 people were killed.
This time, of course, they made the seemingly
effective move of shutting down Internet and,
again, using deadly force very quickly.
AMNA NAWAZ: Reza, these are easily among the
largest demonstrations against the Islamic
Republic since the resolution four decades
ago, not as large as the Green Revolution
in 2009, though.
But tell us, what happens now?
REZA SAYAH: What's interesting is that, this
week, there were demonstrations in Tehran
other and cities sanctioned and approved by
the government, where there were some people
who were protesting against the rising fuel
prices and a struggling economy.
They were peaceful protests.
And there was no violence.
There was no crackdown.
Also this week, there was a national newspaper
with a headline criticizing Iranian state
media of not hearing out the people's concerns.
And you also have the supreme leader, the
government leaders here continuing to say
that the people's concerns must be met, something
must improve with the economy, that the government
must address the people's concern.
So you're hearing some rhetoric, but it still
remains rhetoric.
At this point, there's no indication that
there's going to be a turnaround for the economy,
that the economy is going to improve, and
certainly no indication that the government
is going to tolerate protests that evolve
into something that the government sees as
a threat.
AMNA NAWAZ: That is special correspondent
Reza Sayah reporting from Tehran.
Thanks, Reza.
