Iran sedition defeated
Says head of Revolutionary Guards after Rouhani tells Erdogan protests to end in a few days
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said yesterday that the unrest that had rocked Iran over several days was at an end, and that a maximum of 15,000 people had taken part nationwide.
"Today we can announce the end of the sedition," Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards, said on its website.
"There were a maximum of 1,500 people in each place and the number of trouble-makers did not exceed 15,000 people nationwide," he added.
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani yesterday expressed hope in a telephone call with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the protests which have rocked his country would end in a few days, a Turkish presidential source said.
Erdogan told Rouhani that "peace and stability" in Iranian society had to be preserved and said he concurred with his Iranian counterpart's statement that the right to protest should not lead to "violations of the law".
"President Rouhani thanked President Erdogan for his sensitivity and expressed hope that the protests would end in a few days," said a statement by a Turkish presidential source.
The comments were not immediately confirmed by the Iranian side.
Turkey -- which was hit by street protests against Erdogan (then premier) in 2013 -- had already said it was concerned by the protests and warned against any escalation.
Turkey's conservative press has sounded grave unease over the protests, accusing the United States and its allies of fomenting the unrest.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands gathered across Iran yesterday in a massive show of strength for the country's Islamic rulers after days of deadly unrest, with state television showing vast crowds marching through several cities.
The UN human rights chief, Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, yesterday urged Iran to conduct "thorough, independent and impartial investigations of all acts of violence that have taken place".
Protests over economic problems broke out in second city Mashhad on December 28 and quickly spread across the country, turning against the regime as a whole.
A total of 21 people have died in the unrest, with protesters attacking government buildings and police stations in some areas.