A human rights group reports that the death toll has risen to 36 in protests against escalating inflation in Iran that have lasted for a week and do not appear to be slowing down.
As of Tuesday (Jan. 6), the U.S. based Human Rights Activist news agency reported that 36 people had been killed, including two members of Iran’s security forces, during demonstrations in the country.
On Tuesday, residents upset with the country’s failing economy held a sit in at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar.
The demonstrators were later seen running away after Iranian police fired tear gas at the crowd. One can of tear gas was seen thrown in the opposite direction back toward police.
The demonstration at the Grand Bazaar is symbolic because it was the same place where protests and strikes were held before the fall of the former Iranian government in 1979.
At that time, one US$1 was traded for about 70 Iranian rials. It now takes about 1.4 million rials for US$1.
Some residents commented on Iran’s new policy to provide $7 per month to citizens.
“For those who are truly eligible and genuinely in need of even that $7, it does at least cover a small part of their needs,” Mr. Ezzati said. “From my perspective as a citizen, though, it doesn’t help much.”
Babak Panahi, a shop owner said, “In my view, the government saw that they couldn’t rein in the inflation, so they said, let’s give people $7 so that we can somehow absorb the pressure to hold it back.”
“I mean, it’s like a temporary painkiller,” he added.
Others have pointed out that the Iranian regime has been paying hundreds of millions of dollars every year to terrorist groups such as Hamas in the Gaza Strip and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On the same day, the Israeli Air Force reportedly struck Hamas and Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon.
Lebanese residents were seen inspecting the damage from the Israeli airstrikes.
Israel Makes Historic High-Level Trip to Somaliland
Israel’s foreign minister Gideon Saar travelled to the Republic of Somaliland on Tuesday (Jan. 6) in efforts to build strategic partnership.
The Republic of Somaliland is located in a strategic position near the Iran-backed Houthi terrorist group in Yemen and some believe that Israel and Somaliland partnership could one day lead to security cooperation between the two nations.
Israel said the two nations will pursue cooperation in agriculture, health, technology and the economy.
Located in East Africa, the Republic of Somaliland broke away from Somalia in 1991.
It has not gained widespread diplomatic recognition as a country and is instead being treated as an autonomous region within Somalia.
Israel is the only United Nations member state that recognises the Republic of Somaliland as an independent sovereign state.
