Tamim pledges to pay $2 billion to quell Iran’s protests

CAIRO – 31 December 2017: Iranian sources declared that Qatar’s Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad pledged to pay a $2 billion loan to the Iranian regime to quell protests that recently erupted in Iran, according to the Qatari Opposition Coalition on their Twitter account 'Arab Mubasher'.

مصادر مطلعة في إيران: 'تميم' يتعهد بتقديم قرض 2 مليار دولار للنظام الإيراني لإخماد التظاهرات https://t.co/G7ngSP7qYb

— العرب مباشر (@ArabMubasher) ٣١ ديسمبر، ٢٠١٧

In the last few days, protesters have taken to the streets in anger due to high levels of unemployment, currently standing at 12.4 percent, and a stagnant economy with inflationary prices.

Iran warned on Sunday that protesters will "pay the price" after the third night of unrest saw mass demonstrations across the country; dozens were arrested and official buildings were attacked.

Travel restrictions and a near-total media blackout from official agencies made it very difficult to confirm the swirl of fake news spreading through social media.

Ties have been strong between Qatar and Iran amid the ongoing Arab boycott. Qatari-Iranian relations can be divided into two stages, more recently seen as having a conspiratorial tone.