This archive report was first published on 24 November 2019.
On November 15, 2019, Iran's surprise announcement of a 200 percent petrol price hike sparked widespread unrest, with highways blocked, banks and police stations set alight, and shops looted.
According to law enforcement officials, cited by Fars news agency, 180 ringleaders had been arrested by Sunday in connection with the protests.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards have vowed to respond to the violence, with Rear-Admiral Ali Fadavi, deputy commander in chief, stating, "We will certainly respond in accordance to the viciousness carried out by them."
At a news conference in Tehran, Fadavi also claimed that the arrested individuals had made confessions that they were mercenaries of America, the MEK opposition group, and others.
Monafeghin is a term Iran uses to refer to the People's Mujahedeen of Iran (MEK), which it considers a "terrorist" cult.
The total number of people arrested over the unrest remained unclear, but the UN human rights office put the figure at more than 1,000 on Tuesday, November 19, 2019.
Iran's establishment has been quick to blame external forces for the unrest, with a Basij commander stating that the protests were a "world war" against Iran that had been thwarted.
Brigadier General Salar Abnoosh claimed that interrogations had revealed a "coalition of evil" of "Zionists, America, and Saudi Arabia" was behind the "sedition".
Officials have confirmed five deaths, while Amnesty International said more than 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed and the real toll could be as high as 200.
