How Iran's hard-liners tried to ride wave of protests
Iran's hard-liners say they had nothing to do with the fuel price hike that has prompted Iranian protests.
Feeling the heat, Iranian hard-liners are distancing themselves from the government's fuel price hike.
The government announced Nov. 15 an important decision affecting daily life in Iran: the rationing of gasoline and a subsequent increase in gas prices. Iranians have bitter memories of fuel price hikes. They consider it tantamount to a deterioration in their quality of life. Increases in gas prices have always led to increases in the costs of food and other necessities.
The government announced the price hike at midnight on Friday, while most people were asleep. The announcement caught people off guard. The public wasn’t prepared to face it, and it caused outrage and anger. The timing of the announcement — possibly designed to alleviate the exasperation and to prevent protests — ultimately was not effective.
Meanwhile, the hard-liners launched an onslaught against the government, portraying President Hassan Rouhani as the man behind the people's misery, further provoking public ire p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 14.0px Times; color: #ff2500; -webkit-text-stroke: #ff2500} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} in order to possibly take down the incumbent president. State TV, controlled by hard-liners, also added fuel to the fire, urging people to turn away from Rouhani.
