Edi Rama accuses the Islamic Republic and Russia of fuelling unrest in Albania

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has accused the Islamic Republic and Russia of fuelling the unrest that has gripped Tirana, the country's capital, since Tuesday, 13 October. In an hour-long video message on Sunday, 18 October, he said the protests were proceeding "under foreign direction", and on Monday, 19 October, at a meeting with police commanders, he accused the Islamic Republic and Russia of spreading disinformation online.

According to the Albanian prime minister, tens of thousands of fake accounts linked to the Islamic Republic have been activated under the guise of environmental activism to influence public debate in Albania. He also said Russia is "not an ally of Albania" and warned of a wave of Russian influence on social media. Rama spoke of "numerous pieces of evidence" of interference by Tehran and Moscow, but did not make the details of this evidence public.

The Tirana unrest and the protesters' demands

The protests began with demands about conditions at universities, high tuition fees and corruption, and the protesters are calling for Rama's resignation. The wave of protests in Albania in recent months was first sparked by a plan to build a controversial tourist complex in a protected area. On Sunday, the sixth day of unrest, police confronted protesters with water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets, and a group of masked people set a police station in Tirana on fire. According to Rama, 295 people have been injured so far, more than half of them police officers.

The Albanian prime minister said protest is legitimate but violence is not, and that he will talk with anyone except those who commit violence. He promised a bonus of 2,500 euros to every police officer on the front line and cancelled his official visit to Austria. The US embassy in Tirana and the European Commission also called on all sides to show restraint.

Background to Albania's confrontation with the Islamic Republic

In September 2022, after a large-scale cyberattack that the Albanian government attributed to the Islamic Republic, Albania severed diplomatic relations with Tehran and expelled the Islamic Republic's diplomats. Tirana's new accusation comes as several European countries have in recent weeks exposed sabotage and terrorist operations by the Islamic Republic on their soil, including Germany, which summoned the Islamic Republic's ambassador after a ruling by a Hamburg court.

The Albanian prime minister says tens of thousands of fake accounts tied to the Islamic Republic are fuelling the turmoil in Tirana under the guise of environmental activism.