TEHRAN: Iran's President Hassan Rowhani has said that the demonstrations against water shortages in the south-west of the country are legitimate but warned they could escalate.
"While the protests of the people of Khuzestan Province are legitimate, they should not allow Iran's enemies to politically exploit them," the outgoing president said in a statement on Thursday.
Rowhani asked demonstrators to distance themselves from "villains" who were ready to use violence and who had completely different goals from the peaceful protesters, in the message published on the website of Iran's Presidential Office.
Since last week, there have been repeated protests against water shortages in several towns in Khuzestan province, including clashes between demonstrators and police which Tehran blames on "rioters and counter-revolutionary terrorists."
According to official figures, at least two protesters and one police officer have died so far, and dozens were injured. Eyewitnesses say the number of fatalities and causalities is much higher, however.
Several demonstrators were said to have been arrested after shouting slogans critical of the situation. Water shortages in Iran are common due to frequent droughts, but Khuzestan was hit particularly hard this year, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees.
Rowhani, however, blames the economic crisis caused by US sanctions.
The Iranian government fears that the protests could spread to other provinces in the country and set a group of delegates to Khuzestan.
Videos circulating on social media on Tuesday show dozens of people in a subway station in Tehran shouting slogans against the government and the establishment.
Meanwhile, protesters angry about water shortages took to the streets of southwest Iran for a sixth night in a row on Tuesday, with mounting violence, while Tehran residents chanted slogans, according to videos posted on social media on Wednesday and Iranian news outlets.
Videos uploaded by social media users showed security forces using teargas to disperse protesters. The semi-official Fars news agency said "rioters" shot dead one policeman and injured another in the port city of Mahshahr in oil-rich Khuzestan province.
Activists called for demonstrations to support the Khuzestan protesters and videos surfaced late Tuesday and early Wednesday showing women chanting at a Tehran metro station. Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.
Iran's worst drought in 50 years has triggered power blackouts. - dpa/Reuters
Oman Observer is now on the WhatsApp channel. Click here
