Iran Protests: Here Are 5 Facts You Need to Know

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Protests Started Over Cost of Living, Foreign Policy

A screen displays the final numbers for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, August 8, 2011. Panicked selling on heavy volume resulted in the S&P 500's worst day since December 2008, with every stock in the benchmark index ending in negative territory.
A screen displays the final numbers for the Dow Jones Industrial Average on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, August 8, 2011. Panicked selling on heavy volume resulted in the S&P 500's worst day since December 2008, with every stock in the benchmark index ending in negative territory. | (Photo: Reuters/Brendan McDermid)

The demonstrations began Thursday in Mashhad, the second-most populous city, and have spread to more than 25 cities and towns including Tehran, the capital, as well as the city of Qom, which is seen as the heartland of the clerics, according to The Times.

A major reason for the protests has been "high prices of basic goods" according to the BBC, as well as objections to the nation's foreign policy.

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"The demonstrations were initially about the failure of President Hassan Rouhani's government to revive Iran's struggling economy, address high unemployment and inflation, and combat alleged corruption," the BBC reports.

Youth unemployment in Iran currently stands at 40 percent, and people are angry about a huge government spending on the military and the war in Syria.

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