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Protests spread to at least 86 cities across 28 of Iran’s provinces

By Mahmoud Hakamian
anti-regime protests mahsa amini
Anti-regime protests have spread to dozens of cities across Iran

People returned to streets in cities across Iran on Thursday, September 22, for the seventh consecutive day of anti-regime protests. In Tehran, a large crowd gathered in Keshavarz Blvd and chanted, “The supreme leader is a disgrace” in reference to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

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.

Protesting her arrest, Amini was severely beaten by the security forces in a van and was taken to the capital’s Kasra Hospital due to the severity of her injuries. After initial examinations, doctors declared that Amini had suffered a stroke and was brain dead at the same time. Amini died on Friday, September 16. Shortly after, protests broke out in several cities, including Tehran and Saqqez. The protests have continued and expanded since.

On Thursday, strikes also continued in different cities. Videos from Oshnavieh, northwest Iran, show rows of closed shops.

Despite the heavy presence of security forces, protesters continued their rallies and defied the regime’s repressive forces. In Sanandaj, protesters resisted against state security forces with bare hands and rocks. It is worth noting that in recent days, the regime’s response to protests in Sanandaj and other Kurdish cities has been especially brutal and there are numerous reports of security forces using firearms and live ammunition to quell protests. At the same time, internet access has become very limited and completely cut off at different times.

However, protesters continue to hold their protest rallies every day.

As in previous days, protests became more intense in the afternoon. In Tehran’s Vali Asr Street, the locals marked the seventh day of the protests with chants of “Death to dictator” and “I will kill those who killed my sister!”

In Tabriz, anti-riot units lined up to put up a show of power, but protesters defied them and resumed their protests. A brave woman stepped forward and held her placard in front of security forces. Security forces pushed her aside and were met with the rage of protesters.

In Sardasht, northwest Iran, where clashes between protesters and security forces were intense in recent days, locals report that the regime has stationed the Revolutionary Guards across the city. This indicates that the anti-riot forces have failed to quell the protests.

In Tehran, protesters took their rallies to new locations. A video shows a crowd at the Beheshti Metro Station, chanting, “Proud Iranians, support! Support!”

In Sanandaj, where protests began in the morning, protesters continued their rallies in the afternoon, installing roadblocks and lighting fires in the streets to thwart the advance of security forces.

In Eslamabad-e-Gharb, Kermanshah province, the locals overturned a police trailer in protest to the brutality of security forces toward women and demonstrators. A large crowd had gathered to resume their protests despite the heavy presence of security forces.

Protests continued into the night. In Tehran, protesters stayed in streets and chanted “Death to the dictator!” There were protests in several districts despite heavy presence of security forces.

One video shows security forces opening fire on protesters in Tehran.

In Babol despite heavy presence of security forces and severe repression in previous nights, protesters continued their rallies and chanted “Death to Khamenei!” and “Khamenei is a disgrace!”

In Kashmar, gunshots were heard as security forces tried to disperse protesters. But rallies continued late into the night.

In Oshnavieh, security forces opened fire on demonstrators. The protesters resisted and chanted, “Death to the dictator!”

In Ardabil, protesters were chanting, “Mojtaba, you will die and not become a leader,” in reference to Khamenei’s son. Reports in recent weeks indicate that Khamenei has been grooming his son to become the next supreme leader of the mullahs’ regime.

In Tehran, a vehicle belonging to security forces was set on fire.

In Gachsaran, protesters lined up in front of the fully clad anti-riot units and chanted, “No fear! We’re all together!”

In Malayer, protesters remained in the streets late into the night and chanted “Death to the dictator!”

In Hamedan, protesters were chanting, “Mullahs must get lost!”

In Sanandaj, clashes continued between protesters and security forces late into the night.

On Wednesday, September 21, the Iranian people’s uprising against the mullahs’ regime continued for a sixth day and spread to at 86 cities in 28 provinces with protesters chanting “Death to Khamenei!” specifically targeting regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iranians have escalated their protests by taking control over their cities’ governor’s offices, torching numerous police stations and vehicles, and tearing down or setting on fire large banners of Khamenei and Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Quds Force. This is a clear indication that the Iranian people are voicing their ultimate objective of seeking universal freedoms through toppling the mullahs’ regime in its entirety.

With regime security forces opening fire on protesters, Amnesty International is reporting “the deaths of 6 men, 1 woman and 1 child during protests on 19 and 20 Sept in Kurdistan (4), Kermanshah (2) and West Azerbaijan (2) provinces. Of these, at least 4 died from injuries sustained from security forces firing metal pellets at close range.”

At least two protesters have lost sight in one or both eyes while hundreds more, including children, have sustained painful injuries “amounting to torture or other ill-treatment due to the unlawful use of birdshot and other munitions against them,” Amnesty added in its latest report.

On the sixth day of these protests Khamenei delivered a speech Wednesday morning on the eve of the anniversary of the Iran-Iraq war. In his remarks he referred to his usual line of “foreign conspiracies” targeting the mullahs’ regime and never mentioned the Iranian people’s uprising or the killing of Mahsa Amini.

A similar trend was witnessed in the speech of regime President Ebrahim Raisi at the United Nations General Assembly in New York who praised Qassem Soleimani and criticized foreign countries for their “human rights problems”. Raisi went on to claim the mullahs’ regime is a good model of human rights for foreign countries and neglected the escalating protests spreading across Iran.

The sixth day of protests checkered across Iran coincided with Iranians holding a massive rally in New York to both voice their support for their compatriots across Iran and condemn Raisi’s visit to New York. The Iranians demonstrating in New York and numerous dignitaries, such as Sen. Joseph Lieberman and Sen. Bob Torricelli, condemned the decision to grant a visa to Raisi to attend the UN General Assembly at a time when the mullahs’ regime brutally killed Mahsa Amini and has launched a massive crackdown against the Iranian people’s protests.

Netblocks, the UK-based internet observatory organization tracking network disruptions and shutdowns across the globe, reported on Wednesday that Iran is now subject to the most severe internet restrictions since the November 2019 massacre. Several mobile networks are largely shut down, including MCI and Rightel, and Irancell is at least partially shut down. Regional disruptions were also observed during protests, and restrictions have been imposed on both Instagram and WhatsApp social media networks.

Real-time network data showed a nation-scale loss of connectivity on MCI (First Mobile), being Iran’s leading mobile operator, and Rightel, Netblocks reported, adding metrics show WhatsApp servers being disrupted on multiple internet providers. This came just hours after the restriction of Instagram. Live metrics showed frontend and CDN disrupted on all major internet providers on Wednesday.

Instagram was the last major social media platform that remained unrestricted in Iran and thus extremely popular among the people. All other social media platforms have been blocked for years. Most Iranians have been forced to start using VPNs and software that help them circumvent the regime-imposed filters.

Protesters in many cities are seen chanting slogans of solidarity with their Kurdish brethren and in unity against the mullahs’ regime that is the enemy of the entire Iranian population. The cities of Sari, Hamedan, Zanjan, Khorramabad, Qom, Ardabil, Qazvin, and Sabzevar are just a number of the long slate of cities where people have taken to the streets to voice their protests and utter hatred of the mullahs’ regime.

Authorities and officials of the regime ruling Iran have, as always, attempted to use various methods to push and promote direct different slogans in the popular demonstrations to create a rift among the protesting people.  However, there are reports of people chanting “Death to the oppressor! Be it the Shah or [Khamenei]!” referring to regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. All signs indicate a very strong fabric and national solidarity among the Iranian people against a single enemy, being the mullahs’ regime. The Iranian people have overthrown a monarchial dictatorship, are bound to bring an end to the mullahs’ theocratic dictatorship and establish a free and democratic republic.

It is very vivid that following several series of nationwide strikes, especially in December 2017, January 2018, and November 2019, the Iranian people are using the experience and knowledge of those uprisings in the protests we are witnessing these past few days.

These latest protests by the Iranian people can be described as a national uprising against the oppressive rule of the mullahs. The over 1,500 protesters killed by the mullahs’ regime during the November 2019 uprising has united the Iranian people around a combined objective of overthrowing the theocratic regime and their entire apparatus of oppression.

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