A spokeswoman for the EU on Thursday expressed condolences to the families of those killed during protests in Iran and called for dialogue to resolve the tensions.

“We expect Iran’s security forces to exercise maximum restraint in handling the protests and for protesters to demonstrate peacefully. Any violence is unacceptable,” Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a statement.

“The rights to freedom of expression and assembly must be guaranteed.”

Read more: Iran protests leave ‘over 100 dead,’ Amnesty says

Germany condemned Iran’s security forces for using excessive force during the unrest. A statement from the Foreign Ministry said: “The right to peaceful protest must be respected. The people in Iran must have the opportunity to show their discontent with political and economic developments, and to voice their opinions freely and peacefully. We call on the Iranian security forces to exercise the greatest possible restraint.”

Internet returns after a five-day blackout

Mass protests erupted in Iran last Friday after the government sharply raised the price of petrol, and the unrest quickly spread to cities and towns across the country.

While officials have confirmed five deaths, human rights group Amnesty International said over 100 demonstrators were believed to have been killed, and that the real toll could be as high as 200.

Meanwhile, the internet slowly returned across the country having been shut down for days by the government in an effort to stem the unrest.

Via Twitter, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Iranians to send the US videos “documenting the regime’s crackdown on protesters.”

Given the lack of internet coverage, it was difficult to obtain reliable information about the extent of the unrest. The blackout, which had reached its fifth day, had prompted Iranians abroad to tweet hashtags like #Internet4Iran and call for an end to the outage.

Protest leaders arrested

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday declared that the unrest had been put down. “The Iranian people have again succeeded in a historic test and shown they will not let enemies benefit from the situation, even though they might have complaints about the country’s management,” state TV quoted Rouhani as saying.

Iran’s top authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said on Tuesday the protests had been a security matter, not a popular movement, and had been dealt with successfully.

The country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement, saying the “arrest of the rioters’ leaders has contributed significantly to calming the situation.” Protest leaders were arrested by the Guards’ intelligence arm in the province of Tehran and Alborz as well as in the southern city of Shiraz, according to the statement.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/iran-protests-eu-urges-end-to-violence/a-51

The post Iran protests: EU urges end to violence first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

‘Germany always supports the international agreement and won’t spare any effort for its survival,’ German Envoy Michael Klor-Berchtold told Amir Abdollahian, especial aide to the Iranian parliament speaker.

The Iranian official criticized Europe, especially Germany, France and the UK, the three co-signatories to the Iran nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for not taking practical moves to show their support for the nuclear treaty.

He referred the to European payment channel for trade with Iran, called Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), and stressed that Iranians’ distrust for Europe has risen as the mechanism hasn’t become operational so far.

‘The European diplomacy hasn’t performed well against the US incorrect behaviour,’ Amir Abdollahian said.

INSTEX was created on January 31 and its president and supervisory board have been appointed. Iran has also created a counterparty to INSTEX called Special Instrument for Trade and Financing between Iran and Europe (STFI). Neither of these channels has had any trade exchange so far.

Source: http://www.irna.ir/en/News/83315812

The post Germany vows to save nuclear deal with Iran first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.