Massive Crowds in Tehran Express Support for Country’s Establishment
IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK
TEHRAN – Large crowds of people in Tehran have poured into streets on Monday to express their support for the country’s Establishment and condemn the recent riots that broke out following the gas price hikes.
The protesters amassed at Tehran’s Enqelab (Revolution) Square to attend the massive rally called “Supporters of the Leadership.
The participants held up placards and shouted slogans in support of Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, and expressed outrage at anarchist measures meant to inflict damage on public property during the riots.
The Revolution Square has been named so in honour of the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, and has ever since served as a rallying point on numerous similar occasions. People started moving towards the venue from the four predefined routes across the city.
Addressing the ralliers in Tehran, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned enemies of the Islamic Revolution that they will be destroyed if they cross the redlines that the Islamic establishment has set for defending its people.
Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks while addressing a massive rally in the capital, Tehran, on Monday, which was held to condemn acts of rioting and vandalism following the government’s decision to increase fuel prices.
The Iranian government raised gasoline prices on November 15 in order to moderate the national consumption rate, which stands at 110 million liters per day, 40 million liters above the maximum daily domestic requirement.
The move prompted some peaceful protests, but riotous elements, taking advantage of the circumstances, quickly entered the scene, destroying public property, setting banks and gas stations ablaze among other facilities, and opening fire on people and security forces.
The IRGC’s chief commander further warned, “You have already tested us in the field [of battle] and have been slapped hard in the face without being able to answer. Some of those slaps have been seen by the world and some have not been seen… If you cross our redlines, we will destroy you.”
The IRGC commander added that anyone who seeks to carry out an act of aggression against the property, lives and honor of the Iranian people will be punished severely in a way that will teach them a lesson.
He advised the enemies to respect the Iranian people and adopt a respectful approach in dealing with them, because “if this accumulated energy is released, no enemy will be safe and secure in any part of the world.”
“Today, the coup de grace was delivered to the enemy. The sedition, which occurred in the recent days, was the spin-off of all major fiascos that the Muslim Ummah and the Iranian nation have inflicted on the enemy in different fields over the last 40 years, particularly over the past eight months,” Salami said.
The IRGC commander added that the enemies have been defeated and are not able to carry out any measure, saying, “We go after them anywhere and tell them that we will not leave any move unanswered and will get even.”
