Iran President Rouhani during a speech on Wednesday urged his people to maintain "national unity" amid protests in Tehran in the aftermath of the dowing of the Ukranian 737 aircraft last week.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/i-and-president-rouhani-did-not-know-the-reason-behind-boeing-crash-till-friday-iran-foreign-minister-zarif-at-raisina-dialogue-274417">Also Read:&nbsp;I and President Rouhani did not know the reason behind Boeing crash till Friday, says Zarif</a>

The president while calling the Armed forces to "apologise" said, "The people want to make sure that the authorities treat them with sincerity, integrity and trust."

Iran was swept in anger as people took to the streets on Saturday after authorities admitted a missile was responsible for the Boeing 737 crash in which 176 people died.

Watch Video:

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In an attempt to cool tempers, Rouhani said that "people are our masters and we are its servants. The servant must address the master with modesty, precision and honesty" while asserting that citizens "want diversity".

The president hit out UK PM Johnson after he suggested that the nuclear deal should be substituted by the "Trump deal".

"This Mr. Prime Minister in London, I don’t know how he thinks. He says let’s put aside the nuclear deal and put the Trump plan in action," Rouhani said, adding,"If you take the wrong step, it will be to your detriment. Pick the right path. The right path is to return to the nuclear deal."

"What we have done is reversible. Whatever we do on the nuclear issue is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA),” said Rouhani added.

Rouhani reiterated that American troops should leave the region, saying: "American soldiers today are not secure in the region ... We don’t want there to be insecurity in the world. We want you to go from here, but not with war. We want you to leave the region intelligently and it’s to your benefit."

Iran President Rouhani during a speech on Wednesday urged his people to maintain "national unity" amid protests in Tehran in the aftermath of the dowing of the Ukranian 737 aircraft last week.

Iran President Rouhani during a speech on Wednesday urged his people to maintain "national unity" amid protests in Tehran in the aftermath of the dowing of the Ukranian 737 aircraft last week. Also Read: I and President Rouhani did not know the reason behind Boeing crash till Friday, says Zarif The president while calling the Armed forces to "apologise" said, "The people want to make sure that the authorities treat them with sincerity, integrity and trust." Iran was swept in anger as people took to the streets on Saturday after authorities admitted a missile was responsible for the Boeing 737 crash in which 176 people died. Watch Video: In an attempt to cool tempers, Rouhani said that "people are our masters and we are its servants. The servant must address the master with modesty, precision and honesty" while asserting that citizens "want diversity". The president hit out UK PM Johnson after he suggested that the nuclear deal should be substituted by the "Trump deal". "This Mr. Prime Minister in London, I don’t know how he thinks. He says let’s put aside the nuclear deal and put the Trump plan in action," Rouhani said, adding,"If you take the wrong step, it will be to your detriment. Pick the right path. The right path is to return to the nuclear deal." "What we have done is reversible. Whatever we do on the nuclear issue is under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA),” said Rouhani added. Rouhani reiterated that American troops should leave the region, saying: "American soldiers today are not secure in the region ... We don’t want there to be insecurity in the world. We want you to go from here, but not with war. We want you to leave the region intelligently and it’s to your benefit."

People are our masters and we are its servants, says Rouhani amid protests in Tehran

Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans in several cities across Iran on Friday, Iranian news agencies and social media reports said, as price protests turned into the largest wave of demonstrations since nationwide pro-reform unrest in 2009.

Police dispersed anti-government demonstrators in the western city of Kermanshah as protests spread to Tehran and several other cities a day after rallies in the northeast, the semi-official news agency Fars said.

The outbreak of unrest reflects growing discontent over rising prices and alleged corruption, as well as concern about the Islamic Republic&#39;s costly involvement in regional conflicts such as those in Syria and Iraq.

An official said a few protesters had been arrested in Tehran, and footage posted on social media showed a heavy police presence in the capital and some other cities.

Washington condemned the arrests. &quot;The Iranian government should respect their people&#39;s rights, including their right to express themselves,&quot; White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The US State Department in a separate statement urged &quot;all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption.&quot;

About 300 demonstrators gathered in Kermanshah after what Fars said was a &quot;call by the anti-revolution.&quot; They shouted: &quot;Political prisoners should be freed&quot; and &quot;Freedom or death&quot;, and some public property was destroyed. Fars did not name any opposition groups.

The protests in Kermanshah, the main city in a region where an earthquake killed over 600 people in November, took place a day after hundreds rallied in Iran&#39;s second largest city Mashhad to protest at high prices and shout anti-government slogans.

Videos posted on social media showed demonstrators yelling, &quot;The people are begging, the clerics act like God.&quot;

Fars said there were protests in the cities of Sari and Rasht in the north, Qazvin west of Tehran and Qom south of the capital, and also in Hamadan in western Iran. It said many marchers who wanted to raise economic demands left the rallies after demonstrators shouted political slogans.

Pro-government rallies planned

State television said annual nationwide rallies and events were scheduled for Saturday to commemorate pro-government demonstrations held in 2009 to counter protests by reformists.

The Revolutionary Guards, which along with its Basij militia spearheaded a crackdown against the protesters in 2009, said in a statement carried by state media that there were efforts to repeat that year&#39;s unrest but added: &quot;The Iranian nation ... will not allow the country to be hurt.&quot;

Mohsen Nasj Hamadani, deputy security chief in Tehran province, said about 50 people had rallied in a square but most had left after being asked to by police, while a few who refused were &quot;temporarily detained,&quot; the ILNA news agency reported.

In the central city of Isfahan, a resident said protesters had joined a rally held by factory workers demanding back-pay.

&quot;The slogans quickly changed from the economy to those against (President Hassan) Rouhani and the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei),&quot; the resident said by telephone.

In Qom, a stronghold of the Shi&#39;ite clergy, footage posted on social media showed protesters attacking Ayatollah Khamenei by name. &quot;Seyyed Ali should be ashamed and leave the country alone,&quot; they chanted.

Protests were held also in the town of Quchan near the Turkmen border, and in Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, social media and Iranian news websites reported.

Police arrested 52 people in Thursday&#39;s protests, Fars quoted a judicial official as saying in Mashhad, one of the holiest places in Shi&#39;ite Islam.

In social media footage, which could not be authenticated, riot police were seen using water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds.

Openly political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent.

The last unrest of national significance occurred in 2009 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad&#39;s re-election as president ignited eight months of street protests. Pro-reform rivals said the vote was rigged.

However, demonstrations are often held by workers over lay-offs or non-payment of salaries and by people who hold deposits in non-regulated, bankrupt financial institutions.

Prominent conservative cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda called earlier for tough action against the protests.

&quot;If the security and law enforcement agencies leave the rioters to themselves, enemies will publish films and pictures in their media and say that the Islamic Republic system has lost its revolutionary base in Mashhad,&quot; the state news agency IRNA quoted Alamolhoda as saying.

&quot;Death to dictator&quot;

Some social media videos showed demonstrators chanting &quot;Death to Rouhani&quot; and &quot;Death to the dictator&quot;. Protests were also held in at least two other northeastern cities.

Alamolhoda, the representative of Ayatollah Khamenei in Mashhad, said a few people had taken advantage of Thursday&#39;s protests against rising prices to chant slogans against Iran&#39;s role in regional conflicts.

Tehran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country&#39;s civil war, Shi&#39;ite militias in Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Lebanon&#39;s powerful Hezbollah group.

&quot;Some people had come to express their demands, but suddenly, in a crowd of hundreds, a small group that did not exceed 50 shouted deviant and horrendous slogans such as &#39;Let go of Palestine&#39;, &#39;Not Gaza, not Lebanon, I&#39;d give my life (only) for Iran&#39;,&quot; Alamolhoda said.

Social media videos also showed demonstrators chanting &quot;Leave Syria, think about us,&rdquo; criticising Iran&#39;s military and financial support for Assad.

Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, a close Rouhani ally, suggested that hardline conservative opponents of the pragmatist president might have triggered the protests but lost control of them. &quot;Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers,&quot; IRNA quoted Jahangiri as saying.

Rouhani&rsquo;s leading achievement, a 2015 deal with world powers that curbed Iran&rsquo;s disputed nuclear program in return for a lifting of most international sanctions, has yet to bring the broad economic benefits the government says are coming.

Unemployment stood at 12.4 per cent in this fiscal year, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, up 1.4 per cent from the previous year. About 3.2 million Iranians are jobless, out of a total population of 80 million. 
&nbsp;

Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans in several cities across Iran on Friday, Iranian news agencies and social media reports said, as price protests turned into the largest wave of demonstrations since nationwide pro-reform unrest in 2009

Demonstrators chanted anti-government slogans in several cities across Iran on Friday, Iranian news agencies and social media reports said, as price protests turned into the largest wave of demonstrations since nationwide pro-reform unrest in 2009. Police dispersed anti-government demonstrators in the western city of Kermanshah as protests spread to Tehran and several other cities a day after rallies in the northeast, the semi-official news agency Fars said. The outbreak of unrest reflects growing discontent over rising prices and alleged corruption, as well as concern about the Islamic Republic's costly involvement in regional conflicts such as those in Syria and Iraq. An official said a few protesters had been arrested in Tehran, and footage posted on social media showed a heavy police presence in the capital and some other cities. Washington condemned the arrests. "The Iranian government should respect their people's rights, including their right to express themselves," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement. The US State Department in a separate statement urged "all nations to publicly support the Iranian people and their demands for basic rights and an end to corruption." About 300 demonstrators gathered in Kermanshah after what Fars said was a "call by the anti-revolution." They shouted: "Political prisoners should be freed" and "Freedom or death", and some public property was destroyed. Fars did not name any opposition groups. The protests in Kermanshah, the main city in a region where an earthquake killed over 600 people in November, took place a day after hundreds rallied in Iran's second largest city Mashhad to protest at high prices and shout anti-government slogans. Videos posted on social media showed demonstrators yelling, "The people are begging, the clerics act like God." Fars said there were protests in the cities of Sari and Rasht in the north, Qazvin west of Tehran and Qom south of the capital, and also in Hamadan in western Iran. It said many marchers who wanted to raise economic demands left the rallies after demonstrators shouted political slogans. Pro-government rallies planned State television said annual nationwide rallies and events were scheduled for Saturday to commemorate pro-government demonstrations held in 2009 to counter protests by reformists. The Revolutionary Guards, which along with its Basij militia spearheaded a crackdown against the protesters in 2009, said in a statement carried by state media that there were efforts to repeat that year's unrest but added: "The Iranian nation ... will not allow the country to be hurt." Mohsen Nasj Hamadani, deputy security chief in Tehran province, said about 50 people had rallied in a square but most had left after being asked to by police, while a few who refused were "temporarily detained," the ILNA news agency reported. In the central city of Isfahan, a resident said protesters had joined a rally held by factory workers demanding back-pay. "The slogans quickly changed from the economy to those against (President Hassan) Rouhani and the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei)," the resident said by telephone. In Qom, a stronghold of the Shi'ite clergy, footage posted on social media showed protesters attacking Ayatollah Khamenei by name. "Seyyed Ali should be ashamed and leave the country alone," they chanted. Protests were held also in the town of Quchan near the Turkmen border, and in Ahvaz, capital of oil-rich Khuzestan province, social media and Iranian news websites reported. Police arrested 52 people in Thursday's protests, Fars quoted a judicial official as saying in Mashhad, one of the holiest places in Shi'ite Islam. In social media footage, which could not be authenticated, riot police were seen using water cannon and tear gas to disperse crowds. Openly political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are omnipresent. The last unrest of national significance occurred in 2009 when Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election as president ignited eight months of street protests. Pro-reform rivals said the vote was rigged. However, demonstrations are often held by workers over lay-offs or non-payment of salaries and by people who hold deposits in non-regulated, bankrupt financial institutions. Prominent conservative cleric Ayatollah Ahmad Alamolhoda called earlier for tough action against the protests. "If the security and law enforcement agencies leave the rioters to themselves, enemies will publish films and pictures in their media and say that the Islamic Republic system has lost its revolutionary base in Mashhad," the state news agency IRNA quoted Alamolhoda as saying. "Death to dictator" Some social media videos showed demonstrators chanting "Death to Rouhani" and "Death to the dictator". Protests were also held in at least two other northeastern cities. Alamolhoda, the representative of Ayatollah Khamenei in Mashhad, said a few people had taken advantage of Thursday's protests against rising prices to chant slogans against Iran's role in regional conflicts. Tehran backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his country's civil war, Shi'ite militias in Iraq, Houthi rebels in Yemen and Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah group. "Some people had come to express their demands, but suddenly, in a crowd of hundreds, a small group that did not exceed 50 shouted deviant and horrendous slogans such as 'Let go of Palestine', 'Not Gaza, not Lebanon, I'd give my life (only) for Iran'," Alamolhoda said. Social media videos also showed demonstrators chanting "Leave Syria, think about us,” criticising Iran's military and financial support for Assad. Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, a close Rouhani ally, suggested that hardline conservative opponents of the pragmatist president might have triggered the protests but lost control of them. "Those who are behind such events will burn their own fingers," IRNA quoted Jahangiri as saying. Rouhani’s leading achievement, a 2015 deal with world powers that curbed Iran’s disputed nuclear program in return for a lifting of most international sanctions, has yet to bring the broad economic benefits the government says are coming. Unemployment stood at 12.4 per cent in this fiscal year, according to the Statistical Centre of Iran, up 1.4 per cent from the previous year. About 3.2 million Iranians are jobless, out of a total population of 80 million.

Price protests turn political in Iran as rallies spread

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People are our masters and we are its servants, says Rouhani amid protests in Tehran

Price protests turn political in Iran as rallies spread