Old Video Shared as the Most Recent Protests in Iran
The Claim
The video depicts a building catching fire during the most recent protests of price increases.
Emerging story
Twitter pages and accounts across the MENA region have circulated a video claiming that it depicts a fire that broke out in a building during the most recent protests of the increasing food prices.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar has investigated the claim and found it to be misleading. The video is old and was posted online in November 2019, as Iranian protesters set fire to the Commercial Bank in the Hasan Khan area, south of Tehran.
2019 Iranian Protests
During the protests that erupted in November 2019 against a 50% increase in gasoline prices, some Iranian protesters set fire to government institutions, gas stations, and banks, especially in Shahryar city, southwestern Iran, and Hasan Khan in Tehran Province, which was among areas which witnessedthe protests. Dozens of people were dead, and others were left injured. Human rights and press reports said the estimated that number of killed Iranians during these protests may have reached hundreds.
The Most Recent Iranian Protests
As the Iranian government decided to raise the prices of numerous basic goods such as cooking oil and dairy products, protests over soaring food prices continued in at least six Iranian provinces.
The Iranian protests sparked after “a cut in state subsidies for imported wheat that caused price hikes of as much as 300% for a variety of flour-based staples,” according to the Guardian. News outlets have also mentioned that one person was reported dead in a demonstration in the southwest.
Translated by Khadija Boufous
