MESOPOTAMIA NEWS TOP OF THE AGENDA: Tehran Cracks Down on Nationwide Protests / A SUMMARY OF RELEVANT VOICES

The UN human rights office called for restraint (Guardian) in Iran after authorities shut down the internet and detained hundreds of people in response to protests sparked by a hike in the price of fuel last week. Amnesty International reported that more than one hundred protesters across twenty-one cities have been killed, though it warned the death toll could be much higher.

The protests, which began on Friday, have escalated faster (AP) than widespread demonstrations in 2017 over the country’s economic woes. The International Monetary Fund has described Iran’s economy (Al Jazeera) as being in “severe distress,” and projected it will contract by more than 9 percent this year. President Hassan Rouhani announced on Monday that the government would begin cash payments to most Iranians to compensate for the price hike, but warned that “anarchy and rioting” would not be tolerated.

Analysis
“It is clear from Tehran’s reaction to the latest eruption of protests that the leadership is unnerved, and for good reasons,” writes Brookings’ Suzanne Maloney.

“Rouhani has stressed the need for access to the global economy, while Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has pressed his notion of the ‘economy of resistance’—relying on internal economic resources and eschewing foreign commerce. It now appears the hard-liners have won the debate and are implementing their vision,” CFR’s Ray Takeyh writes for Politico.