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The Daily

A Deadly Crackdown in Iran

The Daily

The New York Times

Daily News, News

4.4102.8K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2019

⏱️ 24 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Behind the curtain of an internet blackout, the Islamic Republic’s security forces have killed at least 180 unarmed protesters. Natalie Kitroeff speaks to Farnaz Fassihi about Iran’s deadliest political unrest in decades and why the United States wanted that unrest — and has helped fuel it. Guest: Farnaz Fassihi, a reporter covering Iran for The New York Times, in conversation with Natalie Kitroeff. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Background reading:How a peaceful protest over fuel prices quickly evolved into nationwide demonstrations against the Islamic Republic and its leaders, unrest which scores of people would not survive.After the United States condemned the extrajudicial killings, Iran pointed to the rebuke as evidence that the demonstrations were backed by Western enemies.

Transcript

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0:00.0

From the New York Times, I'm Michael Barrow. This is Daily.

0:09.3

Today, Iran is experiencing its deadliest political unrest in over 40 years,

0:16.4

with nearly 200 people killed by government forces in the last few weeks.

0:21.6

Natalie Kijora speaks to Farnaz Fesee about why the United States wanted that unrest and has helped fuel it.

0:33.0

It's Tuesday, December 3rd.

0:38.1

Farnaz, take me back to the beginning of the recent uprising in Iran. How did it start?

0:44.3

On Friday, November 15th, this was about 15 minutes before midnight, a wrong time.

0:50.4

I was received reporting another story on Iran that we planned to launch.

0:56.0

And I started receiving text messages and emails from my contacts in Iran, from my family members,

1:03.6

from friends and from sources, asking me if I had heard anything about gas prices going up by almost 300% as of midnight.

1:13.9

People were very alarmed. They were shocked. They thought that this can't be. This is a rumor.

1:19.6

How could they increase prices without telling us how can we afford to go to work?

1:24.4

How can we afford to buy basic goods if gas prices triple in price?

1:28.4

There was a lot of anxiety almost immediately.

1:31.1

Another news authority is in Iran abruptly raised the price of fuel in the country by 50% overnight.

1:36.8

Iranians wake up the next morning. They see official announcement in the news media on state TV

1:43.4

that this is in fact not a rumor.

1:45.3

I hadn't heard the news. I came here and filled three leases and then I noticed the price was 90,000 reels.

1:52.4

It resulted in long lines of cars waiting for hours at petrol stations in the capital Dehran.

1:57.2

And they start to panic.

1:58.7

Mojara feared the consequences will be far reaching.

2:02.1

In Tehran and the rest of Iran, everything is dependent on fuel prices.

...

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