Press TV - Over 50 people have been arrested during an illegal protest in the northeastern city of Mashhad against recent rises in some commodity prices, a local judiciary official says.

Thursday’s gathering had been organized “without a permit,” Fars news agency quoted Hassan Heidari as saying on Thursday.

He added that police responded to the unlawful gathering and took 52 people into custody.

"Peaceful protests are the right of every citizen, but the law will never allow opportunists to materialize their vested interests at the cost of social security," he said.

Meanwhile, ISNA news agency also quoted Mashhad governor Mohammad Rahim Norouzian as saying that police dealt with people with tolerance.

He said a number of arrests were made among those who tried to “damage public property.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani began his second term in office in August, with the country’s economic issues high on his agenda.

Rouhani’s administration has managed to reduce the inflation rate, but it still faces many economic challenges.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has said economic issues were the country’s top priority, urging Iranian officials to make relentless efforts to solve problems facing people, including unemployment among the youth.



“Economy must be the top priority of all members and sectors of the government,” the Leader said in a meeting with President Hassan Rouhani and the members of his administration in Tehran on the occasion of the Administration Week.

On Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei once again called on officials to pursue Resistance Economy with determination in order to address “high prices, inflation and recession.”