Latest update – 10:00 pm CET
Cities across Iran are reporting protests by people from all walks of life as the country is witnessing a growing number of horrific chemical gas attacks targeting mostly schoolgirls and the economy plummeting. People from different strata are finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet, and are taking to the streets to voice their continuous protests.
As the country marks the 216th day of the nationwide uprising on Wednesday, anti-regime measures targeting the mullahs’ oppressive apparatus are carried out by brave youth and members of the Iranian opposition MEK Resistance Units checkered throughout the country.
People throughout Iran continue to specifically hold the mullahs’ Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei responsible for their miseries, while also condemning the oppressive the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and paramilitary Basij units, alongside other security units that are on the ground suppressing the peaceful demonstrators.
Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to at least 282 cities. Over 750 people have been killed and more than 30,000 are arrested by the regime’s forces, according to sources of Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The names of 675 killed protesters have been published by the PMOI/MEK.
The all-girls Nasiri and Abuzar high schools in the city of Urmia, northwest Iran, have been the latest targets of chemical gas attacks by regime operatives on Wednesday. A large number of students have been poisoned and transferred to medical centers to receive urgent attention, according to the Hengaw Human Rights Organization. Reports indicate other schools in different cities across the country are also being targeted in more chemical gas attacks by regime operatives, including:
- The Chamran School in Hamadan, western Iran. Locals are accusing the regime’s IRGC as being behind this attack.
- The all-girls Peeshtazan High School in Dezful, southwest Iran
- The all-girls Ommat High School in the “Tehranpars” district of the Iranian capital Tehran. Local activists say this is the second time this specific school has been targeted in the regime’s chemical gas attacks.
April 19 – Urmia, northwest #Iran
Regime operatives launched chemical gas attacks targeting the all-girls Nasiri and Abuzar high schools, leaving a large number of students poisoned and in need of medical care.#IranChemicalAttacks https://t.co/X1fyU8UUOf— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 19, 2023
The all-girls Nabovvat Elementary School in the Dowlat Abad district of Kermanshah, western Iran, was among the first schools targeted on Tuesday morning in a chemical gas attack by regime operatives, according to the Hengaw Human Rights Organization. A number of students were transferred to medical centers for treatment. Reports showed dozens of other schools in several cities across the country were also targeted yesterday, including:
- The Shahed and Shohadayeh Makkeh schools in District 15, the Abrar School, and the all-girls Pardis Sharif School in Tehran. The all-girls Ghias Educational Complex in the Iranian capital was also the target of a chemical attack today. In other reports, students of the Qassemi School in the capital’s Tehransar district torched a flag of the mullahs’ regime.
- The all-girls Tahzeeb School and the Rezvan School in Karaj, a large city located west of Tehran
- The Nabovvat, Esmat, and Effat schools in the Dowlat Abad district of Kermanshah, western Iran. The Nasr and Dana schools, and the all-girls Farsahfar Elementary School were also targeted in this city.
- The Saipa School and the all-girls Niayesh School in Eslamshahr, a small city located southwest of Tehran
- The all-girls Baharan School in Ardabil, northwest Iran
- The all-girls Hadaf School and the Shafe’i Balu School in Urmia, northwest Iran
- The all-girls Iman School, the all-girls Kothar High School, the all-boys Torkaman Two Elementary School, and the Osveh School in Saqqez, western Iran
- The all-girls Kothar and Setayesh schools in Ahvaz, southwest Iran
April 18 – Ardabil, northwest #Iran
Regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack targeting the all-girls Baharan School. A number of the students were poisoned and in dire condition.#IranChemicalAttacks pic.twitter.com/GeYs8DcBLO— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 18, 2023
Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi has condemned the misogynist regime’s chemical gas attacks targeting schools across the country and describes these measures as the regime’s response to fears of another popular uprising.
“Fearing an uprising by Iranian girls, women, and youth, Khamenei continued to commit the heinous crime of poisoning schoolgirls in Tehran and many other cities of Iran yesterday and today. But the people’s call for justice remains strong, as the chant ‘Khamenei, we will bring you down under the earth!’ echoes nationwide. This corrupt regime cannot escape history’s judgment and the inevitable overthrow by the Iranian people,” the NCRI President-elect explained.
Fearing an uprising by Iranian girls, women, and youth, Khamenei continued to commit the heinous crime of poisoning schoolgirls in Tehran and many other cities of #Iran yesterday and today. But the people's call for justice remains strong, as the chant “Khamenei, we will bring…
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) April 18, 2023
Locals in the Iranian capital Tehran, including the Shahrak-e Bagheri district, began chanting anti-regime slogans on Wednesday night, including:
“Down with the dictator!”
“Down with Khamenei!”
“This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) is overthrown!”
April 19 – Tehran, #Iran
Locals began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
"Down with the dictator!"
"Down with Khamenei!"#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/vNmSWg6HW5— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 19, 2023
Farmers from across the province of Isfahan rallied in the provincial capital on Wednesday to launch marches and hold gatherings as they continue their protests for their fair share of water for their lands and crops. These farmers have long been demanding their rights and regime officials have continuously neglected their protests.
Regime security forces in the city of Abdanan in Ilam Province, western Iran, attacked a group of locals with tear gas on Wednesday, leaving a number of people poisoned and in need of medical care. One individual is in dire condition.
April 19 – Isfahan, central #Iran
Farmers from across the province rallied in the provincial capital and marched to protest for their fair share of water for their lands and other grievances that have gone unanswered by regime officials.#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/7KG8eXx3rf— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 19, 2023
Pensioners and retirees of the regime’s Social Security Organization in Ahvaz, southwest Iran, are protesting high prices, poverty, corruption, inflation, poor living conditions and officials’ refusal to address their demands.
Pensioners and retirees are among the worst-hit segments of Iran’s society. They depend on government stipends to make ends meet, but the regime has refused to increase their pensions in correspondence with growing inflation and the depreciation of the national currency.
The government has long provided many hollow promises of increasing pensions. It was also supposed to settle unpaid pensions remaining from previous years. So far, it has yet to deliver on both demands.
Interestingly, the regime’s own media reported that The Social Security Investment Company (SHASTA), the financial institution that is supposed to fund retirees, has seen a significant increase in its profits in the past years. However, these profits have yet to materialize in the lives of pensioners and retirees.
April 19 – Ahvaz, southwest #Iran
Pensioners and retirees of the regime's Social Security Organization are protesting high prices, poverty, corruption, inflation, poor living conditions and officials' refusal to address their demands.#IranProtests2023pic.twitter.com/6T4f7O47SQ— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 19, 2023
Protesters in the city of Kerman, south-central Iran, torched a large poster of the regime’s former IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani in the early hours of Tuesday morning local time.
Railway workers from across Zanjan Province in northwest Iran rallied outside the local governor’s office on Tuesday to protest their delayed paychecks and raise other issues.
Regime operatives launched a chemical gas attack during a futsol game in the city of Marand in northwest Iran on Tuesday, according to local activists.
April 18 – Kerman, south-central #Iran
Protesters torched a large poster of the regime's former IRGC Quds Force chief Qassem Soleimani in the early hours after midnight local time.#IranRevoIution pic.twitter.com/ncTFy7JR6h— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 18, 2023
A number of teachers and educators rallied outside the regime’s main Education Ministry building in Tehran on Tuesday protesting and demanding officials address their issues immediately. School staff and janitors held a similar rally in this area today also protesting their poor living and work conditions considering the country’s nosediving economy.
April 18 – Tehran, #Iran
Teachers and educators rallying outside the regime's main Education Ministry building protesting and demanding officials address their issues immediately.#IranProtestspic.twitter.com/UJnvL5JJuH— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) April 18, 2023
The protests in Iran began following the death of Mahsa Amini. Mahsa (Zhina) Amini, a 22-year-old woman from the city of Saqqez in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, who traveled to Tehran with her family, was arrested on Tuesday, September 13, at the entry of Haqqani Highway by the regime’s so-called “Guidance Patrol” and transferred to the “Moral Security” agency.
She was brutally beaten by the morality police and died of her wounds in a Tehran hospital on September 16. The event triggered protests that quickly spread across Iran and rekindled the people’s desire to overthrow the regime.
