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HomeNEWSIRAN NEWSIran protests 2019, day 17: merchants go on strike in various cities

Iran protests 2019, day 17: merchants go on strike in various cities

Reporting by PMOI/MEK

Iran, December 1, 2019—On Sunday, anti-regime protests that erupted across Iran over the sudden increase in the price of gasoline entered their seventeenth consecutive day. So far, according to information obtained the network of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the demonstrations have spread to 187 cities.

The demonstrations continue despite a brutal crackdown on the protests by Iranian security forces and a clampdown on internet access across Iran. The MEK’s network confirms at least 600 people have been killed by regime authorities, along with over 4,000 people injured. Reports also indicate at least 10,000 protesters were arrested. The final statistics could, unfortunately, be far higher.

The Iranian resistance has so far gathered and published the names of 179 protesters killed by security forces.

Protests continue despite security measures

Reports show that despite the heavy presence of security forces and the regime’s attempts to intimidate protesters and discourage people from taking to the streets, the Iranian people, who are fed up with 40 years of tyranny and corruption under the mullahs’ rule, continue to show their discontent with the regime.

Hundreds of people attended the funeral of two young fuel porters who had been killed by security forces in Miandoab, northwest Iran. The participants expressed their outrage at the regime and its brutal security forces.

The merchants in Nikshahr, Sistan and Baluchistan province, went on strike in protest to the killing of the fuel porters. The merchants were also protesting to high prices and the imprisonment of rights activists.

The people of the Sarbaz region in Baluchistan closed the roads at the entrance of the city, after which security forces opened fire on them.

In Arak, Markazi province, the workers of the Azarab manufacturing plant went on strike in protest to unpaid wages. Delayed and unpaid wages have been regular cause of protests in the buildup to recent uprising.

On Saturday, in Marvdasht, Fars province, most shopping centers and restaurants had shut down in protest to the killing of demonstrators and the brutal crackdown on protests. Shiraz, the capital of Fars, saw some of the most intense demonstrations during the recent uprising.

Regime officials express fear of continued protests

Regime officials continue to show their fear of the nationwide protests and the wrath of the people. Hesamodin Ashna, advisor to regime president Hassan Rouhani, said, “No one claimed that all the people who came out to the streets were rioters. In reality, all the authorities who must be held to account, will be held to account.”

Interestingly, Ashna, who is also a former deputy intelligence minister, had previously compared the protests to the Eternal Light operation of the MEK in 1988, when the Iranian opposition launched a massive military assault against the regime and brought it on the verge of downfall. “They thought they had launched Eternal Light No. 2,” Ashna said. His recent comments show that he is retracing his steps as protests continue.

Hossein Rezapour, the Friday Prayer leader of Javad Abad, Tehran, described the uprisings as a “dangerous conspiracy” and said, “In this conspiracy, the [MEK] was the main player.”

IRGC Brigadier General Gholamreza Jalali, head of the Civil Defense Organization, said, “The plan to increase fuel prices was so badly implemented that some think the enemy had infiltrated the country’s management system.”

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