Iran's Revolutionary Guard announces the end of anti-government protests

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on Sunday announced that security forces had put an end to anti-government protests in the country.

In an official statement on its website, the IRGC blamed the country-wide protests on the United States, Israel, and Saudi Arabia as demonstrators protested high unemployment, income inequality, and corruption within the Iranian government.

Last week, Iran deployed their Revolutionary Guards forces to three provinces to crackdown on anti-government protests following six days of country-wide demonstrations which left over 20 people dead and hundreds more arrested.

The protests began in late December and quickly spread to cities across the country as demonstrators called on the government to recognize their concerns.

In response to the unrest, the IRGC, an elite force of the Shia-dominated theocracy, were dispatched to the provinces of Hamadan, Isfahan, and Lorestan to address what they called “the new sedition.”

Meanwhile, Iranian lawmakers met in a closed session on Sunday where senior security officials briefed them on the protests and the conditions of those who were arrested, state-run media reported.

“It was emphasized that foreign elements, and in particular the United States, played a basic role in forming and manipulating the recent unrest,” IRNA quoted lawmaker Jalal Mirzaei.

In response to the protests, US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed their support for the Iranian people who were “exercising their human rights.”

The Trump administration also said it was considering enforcing new sanctions against Tehran if it continued to “interfere with civilian protests.”