Largest anti-government protests in Iran since 2009
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This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Keith Adams, and at 4.30 GMT on Friday 9th January, these are our main stories. Iranians are taking to the streets in the biggest anti-government protests in years. The government in Venezuela says it's begun releasing political prisoners in order to promote peace. Colombia's president tells the BBC he believes there is a real threat of US military action against his country. Also in this podcast... Star Trek-like sick bays, we maybe need doctors on the staff, surgeons, robotic surgery, all those sorts of things. As NASA prepares to evacuate the sick crew member from the International Space Station, we'll ask how to keep a growing number of space travellers healthy.
Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Iran in the country's biggest demonstration for years. The rallies began nearly two weeks ago with shopkeepers railing against a sharp fall in the value of the Iranian currency against the dollar. But protesters are now calling for the removal of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. At least 40 demonstrators and five security personnel have been killed. And President Trump has threatened to strike Iran very hard if the authorities continue to kill those demonstrating. Our World Affairs correspondent, Caroline Hawley, has more details.
No!
In towns and cities across Iran, protesters have taken over the streets, tens of thousands of them in extraordinary scenes posted on social media. For days, there's been unrest in Iran, sparked by an economic crisis. But what's happening now, the numbers involved, is on an altogether different scale. Here in Mashhad, Iran's holiest city, they're trying to destroy CCTV cameras used by the Iranian regime for surveillance. and the chants are calling for an end to the Islamic Republic. Many are also calling for the restoration of the monarchy, which was overthrown back in 1979. In the capital Tehran, huge crowds, apparently galvanised by calls from Reza Pahlavi, son of the late Shah. These are the largest protests there have been since millions turned out to object to elections in 2009 that they saw as rigged.
One young woman who'd been out on the streets tonight told me the size of the demonstration was unbelievable. And then, scared, she asked me to delete our online conversation. Human rights groups have accused the security forces of using excessive force as the protests spread nationwide, with more and more people from all walks of life getting involved.
It points to the widespread nature of anger, frustration and grievances across Iranian society. I think the protests are adding to a cycle of protests that make clear that change is coming one way or another.
No one knows exactly where all this leads now. Donald Trump has again warned Iran it will be hit hard if people are killed. Soon after these pictures emerged, the regime imposed a near total internet blackout, cutting Iranians off from each other and the outside world.
Caroline Hawley reporting. I asked GR Gol from the BBC's Persian service if this feels like a turning point for Iran.
It is certainly the most sustainable and wide-ranging unrest we have seen in many years. And that alone makes it significant. But what we have seen in Tehran and the footages we have obtained and also eyewitnesses before the regime cut off the Internet totally were telling us in so many different neighborhoods in Tehran, tens of thousands of people have pulled into the street chanting slogans against the Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. targeting him directly, holding him responsible for the current conditions of the country. I think in the past, most of the mass protests were outside of Tehran. And I think this time around, it is also in Tehran. And if people in Tehran come out in masses, it will encourage the rest of the country.
And it could be a turning point. Iranian human rights groups say more than 40 people have been killed.
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