Protests erupt in Iran's major cities after petrol price rise

President Hassan Rouhani said the government was acting in the public interest, and that the money raised would be distributed to the country's neediest citizens. However, the decision was met with widespread anger in a country where the economy is already reeling as a result of US sanctions that have caused oil exports to collapse and the value of the rial to plummet, and sent the inflation rate soaring.