Rises in the price of petrol are fuelling unrest in Iran

AFTER A BIG rise in the state-controlled price of fuel on November 15th, anger erupted across Iran. Protesters in more than 100 cities blocked traffic, torched banks and burned down petrol stations. They targeted anything that smacked of the state, even mosques and ambulances. It was the most dramatic expression of hostility to the ruling ayatollahs since a disputed election in 2009 sparked a “green revolution” that shook the regime for a year. The most violent unrest occurred in Khuzestan, an oil-rich province on the Persian Gulf, and in a belt of commuter suburbs and small towns ringing Tehran, the capital. Amnesty International, a human-rights watchdog in London, said over 100 protesters nationwide had been killed.Complaints about petrol prices have turned into denunciations of the regime. Protesters burned portraits of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and shouted “Mullahs get lost!” Two years ago working-class Iranians demonstrated angrily when the government raised the price of eggs. This time middle-class car-owners also joined the protests. The gulf between the ruling clergy and Iran’s 83m people appears to be widening.