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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://afghanistan.asia-news.com/en_GB/articles/cnmi_st/features/2019/11/19/feature-03\nAfghan forces clear Taliban from over 50 villages in Kunduz\nWomen 'pioneers' demand greater participation in peace process\nIncreased military pressure forces 70 Taliban fighters to surrender in Ghor\nProtests |\nRevolutionary Guard vows bloody crackdown on protesters in Iran\nSalaam Times and AFP\nIranian protesters gather around a fire during a demonstration in Tehran November 16. [AFP]\nTEHRAN -- In a threatening message published by state media, Iran's most powerful military branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said it will take \"decisive\" action against the growing protests across Iran.\nA shock decision to impose petrol price hikes sparked the nationwide demonstrations in which officials say at least five people have been killed, including three security personnel on Tuesday (November 19).\nThe increasingly violent protests reportedly have spread to 100 cities.\nIranian protesters gather amid burning tires during a demonstration against an increase in gasoline prices in Isfahan November 16. [AFP]\nIranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in remarks by published by state media on Sunday, denounced protesters as \"thugs\" who he said were disrupting law and order.\nThe situation in the streets remains unclear largely because of the government-imposed internet outage now in its third day.\nThe internet will be unblocked only when authorities are sure it will not be misused, said the regime Tuesday.\n\"The internet will come back gradually in some provinces where there are assurances the internet will not be abused,\" government spokesman Ali Rabiei said.\nThe outage has stemmed the flow of videos shared on social media of protests or associated acts of violence.\nInternet connectivity in Iran was at 4% on Tuesday compared with normal levels, Netblocks, a website that monitors global internet shutdowns, said.\nAFP journalists saw two petrol stations in Tehran gutted by fire and damage to infrastructure, including a police station.\nBut journalists were prevented from filming as hundreds of riot police guarded squares in the capital with armoured vehicles and water cannon.\nThe demonstrations erupted after it was announced the price of petrol would be raised by 50% for the first 60 litres purchased over a month and 200% for any extra fuel after that.\n'Lethal force' against demonstrators\nThe United Nations rights office said Tuesday that it was \"alarmed\" by reports that live ammunition was used against protesters and had caused a \"significant number of deaths across the country\".\n\"Iranian media and a number of other sources suggest dozens of people may have been killed and many people injured during protests in at least eight different provinces, with over 1,000 protesters arrested,\" spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.\n\"We urge the Iranian authorities and security forces to avoid the use of force to disperse peaceful assemblies,\" he said.\nColville also called on protesters to demonstrate peacefully, \"without resorting to physical violence or destruction of property\".\nThe United States has condemned Iran for using \"lethal force\", with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tweeting \"the United States is with you\" in response to the demonstrations.\nState television showed footage of rallies against \"rioting\" in Tabriz and in Shahr-e-Qods.\nFootage of masked young men clashing with security forces has been broadcast on state television, which rarely shows any signs of dissent.\nIn a video aired Monday (November 18) night, a man can be seen firing what appears to be an assault rifle as others hurl stones apparently at security forces in Andimeshk.\nAssailants wielding knives and machetes ambushed and killed three security personnel west of Tehran, the ISNA and Fars news agencies reported late Monday.\nOne of the three was identified as Morteza Ebrahimi, a commander in the IRGC.\nThe other two were Majid Sheikhi, 22, and Mostafa Rezaie, 33. Both served in the Basij militia, a volunteer force loyal to the establishment.\nIt is the worst violence since IRGC forces and their affiliated Basij militia violently suppressed the nationwide anti-government protests that began in late December 2017 and stretched into January 2018. At least 22 people were killed.\nRoots of the economic problem\nWhile the protests stem from the petrol price increase, the scale of the unrest points to deep-rooted economic problems -- from the debt-ridden banking sector to the outsized and opaque role of military-linked organisations in the economy.\nMany Iranians say the regime is exacerbating the economic woes of its own people by choosing to support proxy wars around the region instead of investing in its own country.\nMuch of the public outrage centres on the IRGC and on the high proportion of government expenditures going to IRGC proxy wars abroad, particularly in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.\nEstimates vary, but some figures suggest as much as 40% of Iranians -- more than 30 million citizens -- languish below the poverty line even as their government spends lives and treasure on costly foreign adventures.\nWith Iranians struggling at home, the government's funding of IRGC-backed militias abroad -- such as the Afghan Fatemiyoun Division and the Pakistani Zainabiyoun Brigade -- is increasingly unpopular.\nComment Policy * Denotes required field Comment *\n1500 characters remaining (1500 max) Captcha *\nIf the Iranian nation had a little honor, it could destroy the evil type Akhunds a thousand times. Rights are not given: they are being taken away. To gain one's rights, one should stand with all his strength.\nThousands of Iranians face torture, execution in post-protest crackdown\nAt least 7,000 people have reportedly been arrested in Iran, and interviews and evidence show that many face dire circumstances.\nFinancially weakened Iran to accept $5 billion 'investment' from Russia\nIran has suffered a sharp economic downturn, with a plummeting currency sending inflation skyrocketing and driving up import prices. Russia appears to see an opportunity.\nDozens of Taliban fighters surrender to authorities in Nangarhar, Badakhshan"