TEHRAN: Iran saw another day of large pro-regime rallies on Thursday after authorities declared the end of deadly unrest and turned attention to addressing the economic concerns that fuelled protests.

A week after demonstrations broke out, there was a very heavy police presence on the streets of Tehran, journalists said, and no reports of fresh protests overnight.

Limited activity on social media suggested unrest in provincial towns was also down.

The US said it may look to impose fresh sanctions on Tehran over its “crackdown”, but Russia warned Washington against interfering in Iran’s internal affairs.

Iranian state TV showed huge crowds marching in support of the government across 10 cities early on Thursday, including Isfahan, Ardebil and Mashhad, where the protests first erupted a week ago.

“We are together behind the leader,” chanted the crowds, in reference to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

In a bid to address grievances that drove the initial unrest, Iranian authorities were weighing options including blocking unpopular measures in President Hassan Rouhani’s recent budget.

“The people’s main demand now is for the government and officials to deal with the economic problems,” Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Khamenei, told the semi-official ISNA news agency. The head of the army, General Abdolrahim Mousavin, thanked security forces for “putting out the fire of sedition”.

Published in Dawn, January 5th, 2018