TEHRAN: Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps on Wednesday declared an end to the anti-establishment unrest that has roiled the Islamic Republic and left about 20 people dead over the past week.
"Today we can announce the end of the sedition," said Mohammad Ali Jafari, commander of the Revolutionary Guards.
"There were a maximum of 1,500 people in each place and the number of trouble-makers did not exceed 15,000 people nationwide," he said on the Guards' website.
"A large number of the trouble-makers at the centre of the sedition, who received training from counter-revolutionaries... have been arrested and there will be firm action against them," he continued.
"The enemies should know that threats against Iran’s defense and security no longer work."
There were no reports of fresh protests in Tehran on Wednesday, amid a heavy police presence. Pro-government demonstrations took place in other Iranian cities, even as a senior official struck a conciliatory tone over protesters' demands.
"There a sense that the situation may be settling down, though it doesn't necessarily mean a return to normality," said Vincent Eiffling, an Iran researcher at the Belgium-based Centre d'Etudes des Crises et des Conflits Internationaux. "The establishment is busy taking back the streets with the pro-government demonstrations."
Hundreds of people have been detained in the clampdown on the unrest, which started a week ago with a protest in the holy city of Mashhad against the economic policies of President Hassan Rouhani, a moderate who favors closer ties with the West. Hardline clerics in the city expressed their support for the protesters.
But as the unrest spread to other cities, crowds started to target the broader religious and political establishment, and even Iran’s ultimate authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, largely seen as above criticism.
The turmoil, always thought unlikely to become a threat to central power, comes at a critical time for Iran. The nuclear accord that Rouhani’s government struck with world powers in 2015 as a way out of economic decline is being assailed by President Donald Trump, who accuses Iran of using its regional military clout to support terrorism and counter U.S. interests.
European signatories have so far remained united in their support of the deal and Rouhani -- but a dramatic security crackdown on protesters would have made that harder.
Trump tweeted Wednesday a promise that anti-regime forces in Iran will receive "great support from the United States at the appropriate time!"
The UN human rights chief called on Iran on Wednesday to rein in security forces to avoid further violence and respect the right of protesters to freedoms of expression and peaceful assembly.
Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement that more than 20 had been killed and hundreds arrested across Iran in the past week and he urged "thorough, independent and impartial investigations of all acts of violence that have taken place".
Protesters "have a right to be heard", he said. There must be "a concerted effort by the authorities to ensure that all security forces respond in a manner that is proportionate and strictly necessary, and fully in line with international law".