VOA:

Kurds in northwestern Iran have gone on strike for a fifth day to protest Tehran’s extended closure of border crossings that they rely upon for vital trade with northern Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Residents of the predominantly ethnic Kurdish region of Iran sent VOA Persian photos and videos of peaceful strikes and demonstrations in several locations Thursday. Kurdish news sites said the protests have spread to at least seven towns since they began Sunday. Those towns include Baneh, Javanrud, Mahabad, Marivan, Piranshahr, Saqqez and Sardasht. VOA Persian has received additional images of the shuttered stores and street rallies in these areas in recent days.

Iranian Kurds who have spoken to VOA Persian dismiss official assertions that the border blockade is an Iraqi initiative, saying they believe Tehran is responsible because of Iranian influence in Iraqi affairs.

Saeed Jalili, a national security adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met with residents of Baneh at a mosque Wednesday, appealing to them to go back to work.

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