Wednesday marked the 20th day of anti-regime protests across Iran despite heavy security measures, repression, and internet restrictions.
These protests have expanded to 170 cities and all 31 provinces across the country. According to reports gathered by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the regime has so far killed 400 civilians and arrested 20,000 others.
On Wednesday, nightly protests were reported in several cities, including Tehran, Qom, Kermanshah, Talesh, and Nurabad (Fars province). Due to internet shutdowns, information could not be obtained from many cities across Iran.
In Tehran, protesters gathered in several districts and chanted anti-regime slogans.
In Qom, a large crowd had gathered in one of the main streets and were chanting, “No fear! We are all together!” In Nurabad, Fars province, protesters set fire to a monument in one of the squares. In Talesh, Gilan province, protesters blocked the roads with fire and resisted security forces that were dispatched to disperse the rallies.
Tuesday marked the 19th day of the protests. Many cities throughout the country have been seeing high school students joining the anti-regime gatherings and chanting slogans against regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Storeowners and people from other walks of life in various cities and towns are also playing their part in the nationwide uprising by going on strike.
Many schools in the Iranian capital Tehran were scenes of students chanting “Death to the dictator!” in a clear reference to Khamenei himself. In Shiraz, another major city located in south-central Iran, high school students took to the streets chanting “This is the year [Khamenei] is overthrown!” “Shame on you!” and “Basij get lost!”
“Imprisoned college students must be released!”
In Karaj, a metropolitan city located west of Tehran, high schoolers took to the streets chanting “I will kill those who killed my sister!” “Imprisoned college students must be released!” and “Death to the Basij!” refers to the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) paramilitary Basij Force. The Basij units have historically been the regime’s first deployed units to quell the Iranian people’s protests.
High school girls in the city of Saqqez, the hometown of Mahsa Amini, held a rally on the city’s Daneshgah (University) Street chanting “No fear! We’re all together!” and “Death to the dictator!” A number of these protesting students were reportedly arrested by local authorities.
In the city of Marivan in Kurdistan Province, western Iran, high school students joined the nationwide anti-regime rallies and launched a demonstration in their city streets. People in their vehicles expressed their support by continuously honking their horns, creating a tense atmosphere for city authorities that felt helpless in the face of the growing turmoil.
In the city of Mashhad in the northeast, high school girls were seen holding a demonstration and chanting “Mullahs must get lost!”
These protests 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.
Further reports coming from Iran show more universities joining protest rallies on Tuesday. At Qom University, a large group of students was chanting anti-regime slogans. In Mashhad, students at Imam Reza University held a protest rally.
Students at Ferdowsi University, also in Mashhad, held a rally and chanted, “This is no longer just protests! This is the start of a revolution!” Afterward, they proceeded with marching in the Vakil Abad Road. At Qom University, students were shouting, “College students rather die than live in infamy!” And in Tehran, students of Khajeh Nasir University also held a protest rally.
At night intense protests were reported in several cities. In Divandarreh, people held rallies despite the prominent presence of security forces. Protesters chanted anti-regime slogans. There were also reports of intense protests in Saqqez. Videos show security forces opening fire on protesters and clashes in different parts of the city.
