Iran, December 17, 2019—Iran’s November uprising showed that what happened across the country was not a simple protest, the like of which we see in other countries. It was a revolution that flared up from deep inside Iran’s society.
“Down with Khamenei! Down with Rouhani! Mullahs must get lost! Neither Gaza nor Lebanon, my life is for Iran! 40 years of dictatorship is enough!” the Iranian protesters chanted during the protests. The slogans of protesters showed the anger of the Iranian people for the regime and their will to change the entire regime forever.
Contrary to previous protests in 2018 and 2009, the November protests which, were started after the gas price hike, quickly turned became political. The regime itself revealed its fear and said that the protesters had no demand from the government.
On December 6, 2019, Mohammad Javad Bagheri, the representative of Ali Khamenei in Asalem, stated in Friday prayer that protesters were not demanding anything from the government, but they were exhausted from the regime policies.
The widespread protests spread to over 190 cities. People blocked the road by putting obstacles on roads or by making traffic jams demanding regime change by chanting slogans against the regime’s authorities and the entire regime.
The regime found itself on the brink of collapse. So, almost all the regime’s high-ranking authorities from all factions took off their masks and resorted to a brutal crackdown against the protesters to save their dictatorship.
Now the regime’s weakness has become clearer. A regime that opens fire on protesters who rose for a fair cause; a regime that traps and slaugthers protesters in marshes; a regime that robs bodies of killed protesters from hospitals to cloak the real number of casualties; a regime that opens fire on protesters by helicopters; a regime that shuts down the internet for 220 hours in a bid to prevent the spread of protest news; a regime that put pressure on families of killed protesters to falsely admit that their loved ones were mentally ill; a regime that throws executed protesters or those who were killed under torture into rivers; and a regime that demands the families of its victims to pay the cost of the bullets it used to killed their loved ones…
Of course, the regime who perpetrated the crime knows the exact number of protesters it killed in public or in secret detentions better than anyone, but its refusal to publish any figure in this regard tells a lot about its weak state. According to PMOI/MEK resources inside Iran, over 1,500 were killed in the Iranian nationwide uprising, over 4,000 injured, and over 12,000 were arrested (statistics up to November 17).
The question is why the regime refuses to declare the exact number of killed protesters? Why it tries to cloak these figures?
In fact, the regime is stuck in a dilemma. If it reveals the real number of killed protesters, it will strike a new crisis that will trigger new demands and protests in the society: Who ordered to kill protesters? What about arrested protesters, where are they? How many people were arrested and what is their situation? Why did they face brutal tortures?… and consequently, a public demand for bringing the perpetrators to justice that will directly target the regime’s top officials which can lead to another uprising and the regime overthrowing.
Already, Iranian officials are terrified of the consequences of the killing of protesters and are trying to distance themselves from the regime’s crimes.
That is why Ali Rabie, spokesperson of regime president Hassan Rouhani, stated that the Supreme National Security Council, headed by Rouhani, preferred not to reveal the number of casualties.
These facts simply show that the regime could temporarily manage the situation to save its dictatorship. A look at the world’s history shows that opening fire on civilians in public is a sign of a dictatorship that is in the final throes of its life.
The November protests shows a new turning point in Iran’s situation which can be characterized as follows:
- The Iranian are ready to overthrow the regime.
- The regime’s is becoming increasingly incapable to handle the situation and maintain its hold on power.
- Rebellious youth are becoming an influential player and a fresh force in Iran.
- Iran enjoys an organized movement that leads, teaches and guides the protests.
- The people of Iran are backed by an organized resistance that supports Iran’s uprisings worldwide.
