HomeNEWSIRAN NEWSRegime crackdown, economic woes fuel more unrest in Iran
NEWSIRAN NEWS

Regime crackdown, economic woes fuel more unrest in Iran

By Mahmoud Hakamian
Iran - protests - uprising - revolution - April 2023 - File Photo
Iran protests

The Iranian people boycotted the regime’s so-called “Quds Day” ceremonies on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan despite the mullahs’ state media hype in this regard. The country’s economy continues to witness troubling times and footage from the cities of Tehran, Ahvaz, and Marivan showed people in long lines waiting to purchase poultry at discount prices.

Even the most basic goods are becoming scarce and/or considered a luxury with rising inflation and skyrocketing prices thanks to the regime’s destructive policies, or lack thereof. This goes parallel to growing anger among the general public following the regime’s recent wave of chemical gas attacks targeting innocent schoolgirls.

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.

Parents and locals in the city of Shahin Shahr in Isfahan Province, central Iran, took to the streets on Saturday protesting the recent wave of chemical gas attacks by regime operatives targeting innocent schoolgirls in this and other cities across the country. A large crowd of protesters were seen demonstrating against these horrific attacks and chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Down with the dictator!”
“Down with the child-killing regime!”
“So many years of crimes! Down with the mullahs’ regime!”

Regime officials in Shahin Shahr quickly dispatched security forces to the streets to prevent the rally from expanding and more people joining the protesters’ ranks. The mullahs’ oppressive forces attacked the demonstrators and resorted to launching tear gas to disperse the crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

Reports from the cities of Sanandaj, Mahabad, and Izeh on Saturday indicate that regime operatives have relaunched their chemical gas attacks against innocent schoolchildren. The all-girls Sherafat and Khadijeh schools in Sanandaj; the all-girls Shafei School in Mahabad; and the all-girls Kowsar and Parvin Etesami high schools in Izeh were attacked today with chemical gasses. In all cases many students were poisoned and a number of them were in need of medical care.

Iranian opposition coalition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi hailed the brave people of Shahin Shahr who took to the streets to protest the regime’s ongoing chemical gas attacks targeting schools across the country.

“I would like to salute the valiant girl students and their families in Shahin-Shahr, who stood up against the heinous poisoning of innocent girls. Despite facing a vicious attack by security forces using tear gas, they stood their ground and chanted slogans like ‘Death to the dictator!’ ‘Death to the child-killing regime!’ and ‘Students die, but do not accept humiliation!’ Regrettably, female students in schools across various cities, such as Sanandaj, Shahr-e Quds, and Izeh, have also been subjected to chemical attacks. The only viable course of action is to rise and resist with maximum strength,” the NCRI President-elect explained.

Locals in the Shahrak-e Bagheri and Sa’adat Abad districts began chanting anti-regime slogans, including:
“Down with Khamenei!”
“Down with the murderous IRGC!”
“Down with the child-killing regime!”
“We will stand to the end!”

People in different cities were also holding gatherings on Saturday to voice their grievances, especially over the country’s nosediving economy thanks to the regime’s incompetence and rampant corruption.

  • Nurses and medical staff of the Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences in Sanandaj rallied outside the provincial governor’s office protesting their economic woes and demanding answers.
  • Workers of a petrochemical plant in Dasht Abbas of Ilam Province, and contract workers of a refinery in Dehloran, also in Ilam Province, were protesting today and demanding their delayed paychecks and bonuses.
  • Villagers near the city of Tonekabon in Mazandaran Province, northern Iran, scuffled with regime officials and authorities who sought to present a forged document and confiscate a large amount of the villagers’ lands. Local activists are reporting that regime security forces opened fire on the villagers, leaving at least three people killed and several others injured.
  • A group of taxi drivers held a gathering outside the City Council of Naqadeh, northwest Iran, protesting the lack of insurance coverage, low gasoline rations, and poor state services.

 

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.

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Mahmoud Hakamian
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