A country at war among its neighbours and under economic pressure from America and Europe…is a country with internal economic and political problems of its own….
It HAS oil…
But is limited in where it can earn money from it….
THAT is causing problems for it’s people and leadership….
The abrupt decision, announced early Friday, sparked widespread demonstrations in some two dozen locations across the country as residents already grappling with soaring inflation called on the government to reverse the hike.
In towns and cities over the weekend, drivers abandoned vehicles on highways and protesters blocked roads and set tires and buildings alight. Some demonstrators clashed with baton-wielding security forces and at least one protester and a police officer were killed, officials said.
Sporadic demonstrations continued Sunday, according to local residents and videos posted on social media. A demonstrator in the capital said protesters continued to confront police on the streets of central Tehran. In the northeastern city of Mashhad, the streets were deserted early Sunday, one resident said. Reached by telephone, he said some companies had closed to protest the cut to fuel subsidies. Both residents spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fears of reprisals from security forces.
Also Sunday, the government ordered a blanket restriction on Internet access nationwide, local news agencies reported.
“Iran is in the midst of a near-total national Internet shutdown,” the civil society group NetBlocks, which monitors Internet access worldwide, said in a statement.
The protests underscored the difficulties Iran’s rulers face as they try to blunt the effects of harsh U.S. sanctions while containing the frustration of many Iranians fed up with rising prices and a system they say is incapable of reform…