<p>Iranians across the country joined in unauthorized protest last weekend to speak out against the government&rsquo;s inability to fix ongoing economic troubles like rising prices and unemployment. Dozens of people have been arrested. ;</p>
<p>Iran&rsquo;s economy, which is largely dependent on oil, has long been plagued by high unemployment and double-digit inflation. Data from the International Monetary Fund shows inflation at 10.5%, down from nearly 40% in 2013. ;</p>
<p>Unemployment is disproportionately high among young workers, and socioeconomic inequality is a growing problem. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Corruption is rampant and hardliners maintain control over vast swaths of the economy,&rdquo; reports <em>DW</em>. ;</p>
<p>GDP growth soared in 2016 thanks to the JCPOA (an Obama-era deal that removed international sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on the country&rsquo;s nuclear program), but the effects have yet to trickle down to the average working-class Iranian. ; ;</p>
<p>President Trump in October refused to certify Iran&rsquo;s compliance with JCPOA terms. He also slapped new sanctions on Iran in order to protect Israel from the country&rsquo;s growing ballistic-missile program. In the wake of the protests, one government official blamed Trump for preventing Iran from reaping the economic benefits of the nuclear deal. ;</p>
<p>On Friday, Trump tweeted support for the protestors: &ldquo;Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime&rsquo;s corruption &; its squandering of the nation&rsquo;s wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people&rsquo;s rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching!&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>A government official condemned Trump&rsquo;s tweet as &ldquo;meddlesome.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>The US State Department joined Trump in criticizing Iran and supporting the protestors: &#8220;Iran&#8217;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.&#8221;</p>
<p>Anti-government protests began Thursday in Mashhad and continued into Saturday. Authorities were forced to use tear gas to disperse crowds, and at least two protestors where shot. ;</p>
<p>Videos posted to social media ;show protestors shouting &ldquo;death to Rouhani&rdquo; and &ldquo;leave Syria, think about us.&rdquo; Iran&rsquo;s involvement in conflict abroad includes support for Presdient Bashar al Assad in Syria and the Hamas and Hezbollah movements in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively. ; ;</p>
<p>Others protestors aimed their frustration at Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, shouting &ldquo;shame on you, Seyyed Ali Khamenei&rdquo; and burning images of his face. ;</p>
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<p>When President Rouhani assumed office in August 2013, he inherited a mismanaged government and an economy afflicted by high subsidies and other populist policies enacted by former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p>
<p>Renewed anti-government sentiment could president a challenge for Rouhani, who was re-elected in May on promises that he would revitalize the economy. ;</p>
<p>Rouhani&rsquo;s administration has managed to stabilize the currency, but prices on basic goods like eggs have recently increased by 30-40%. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;With good policies and expert management they could have stopped the damage,&rdquo; complains Taraneh Kamali, a doctor who works in Tehran. ;</p>
<p>Rouhani&rsquo;s efforts to improve Iran&rsquo;s international isolation have also been met with pushback from the public. ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Economic malaise causes periodic protests in Iran, but this new round seems to have gained more momentum as Rouhani&rsquo;s hardline rivals added more fuel to the fire in the wake of price hikes and slashing of subsidies,&rdquo; explains Ali Vaez, who leads the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. ;</p>
<p>Overt political demonstrations are rare in Iran, where protesting is illegal and security services are omnipresent. Last weekend&rsquo;s protests seem to have been orchestrated by reformist politicians who protested the re-election of Ahmadinejad in 2009.</p>
<p>&ldquo;Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers,&rdquo; warned Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri. ;</p>
<p>The anti-government protests occurred simultaneously with an annual pro-government rally in Tehran, where tens of thousands gathered to support the country&rsquo;s leaders amid the chaos. ;  ; ;</p>
<p>&ldquo;Counterrevolution groups and foreign media are continuing their organized efforts to misuse the people&rsquo;s economic and livelihood problems and their legitimate demands to provide an opportunity for unlawful gatherings and possibly chaos,&rdquo; reported state TV, which provided scant coverage of the protests. ;</p>
<p><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:</strong> Trump has taken some flak for this for supporting the protests in his tweets. But it shows that pressure on Iran is having some effect. Will changes come as a result? ;</p>
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