(Last update: 9:30 pm CET)
Saturday marked the 37th day of Iran’s nationwide uprising as anti-regime protests continued, and many calls have been for people to take into the streets for further demonstrations and rallies.
Protests in Iran have to this day expanded to 195 cities. Over 400 people have been killed and more than 20,000 are arrested by the regime’s forces, according to sources of Iranian opposition People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The names of 224 killed protesters have been published by the PMOI/MEK.
Saturday’s protests began with student demonstrations in several cities. In Tehran, the students of Behesthi University held a protest rally. Students in other parts of Tehran held demonstrations and chanted, “Death to the dictator!” In Yazd, the students of Yazd University, Faculty of Art & Architecture, held a demonstration. In Ahvaz, students of Academy of Gondishapur held anti-regime rallies.
October 22 – Tehran, #Iran
Protesters chanting: "Death to the dictator!"#IranRevolution2022#آزادی_آزادی_آزادی pic.twitter.com/9F4mvICZ2b— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) October 22, 2022
At the same time, strikes were held in several Kurdish cities, including Saqqez, Marivan, Marvdasht, Bukan, and Mahabad.
Protests were held in several cities on Saturday. In Shahinshahr, protesters were chanting, “This is the year Seyed Ali [Khamenei] is overthrown!” In Tehran, a group of protesters shouted, “Death to the dictator!” In Mashhad, protesters chanted,
“No fear! We’re all together!”
In Tabriz, protests were very intense. Protesters blocked roads with fire to prevent the movement of security forces.
In Mashhad, security forces attacked and brutally beat protesters in several parts of the city. However, residents continued their protest rallies.
In Shahin Shahr, protesters were chanting, “This is the year [Khamenei] will be overthrown!”
The people of Dezful held large protest rallies on Saturday. In their demonstration, they chanted, “Freedom! Freedom! Freedom!” and “This is the year Seyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown!” reiterating their desire to overthrow the regime.
Protests took place in several districts of Tehran. In Cheragh Bargh Bazaar, protesters were chanting, “Death to the dictator!” In Laleh-Zar Street, people were shouting, “Death to the dictator!” A large rally was held in Ferdousi Boulevard, Sadeghiyeh district. A rally was held in Shariati metro station. In Tehranpars, people rallied in streets.
Protests were also reported in Mahabad, Sanandaj, Kermanshah, and Bukan.
On Friday morning, protesters in the city of Zahedan, the capital of Sistan & Baluchestan Province, took to the streets in a new show of anti-regime sentiment.
At the same time, merchants in Kurdish cities, including Sanandaj, Saqqez, Bukan, Marivan, and Baneh, were on strike and closed their shops in solidarity with the ongoing anti-regime uprising. Truck drivers in the city of Marvdasht in Fars Province, south-central Iran, have also joined the nationwide strike movement.
On Friday, the people of Zahedan held anti-regime protests after the Friday prayers, despite heavy security measures. The people of the city held a large gathering and chanted slogans against the regime. This protest rally comes weeks after the regime carried out a brutal massacre in Zahedan, in which security forces killed at least 90 civilians—including several children—and injured more than 300 in what became known as “Zahedan’s bloody Friday.”
Protesters in Zahedan were chanting slogans against the mullahs’ regime, specifically targeting regime Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. “Death to Khamenei!” “Death to the dictator!” “I will those who killed my brother!” “From Zahedan to Tehran, my life for Iran!” “Death to the IRGC paramilitary Basij!” were among the slogans chanted in this large rally. Authorities had dispatched a large number of security units to quell the anti-regime demonstration.
Iranian opposition NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi hailed the people of Zahedan as they commemorated “the innocent Baluch martyrs of the nationwide uprising by chants of ‘Death to Khamenei!’ and ‘My life for Iran.’ The regime’s crimes have fueled the public’s rage, burning the roots of the ruling mullahs forever.”
On Day 36 of #IranProtests, the people of Zahedan commemorated the innocent Baluch martyrs of the nationwide uprising by chants of “Death to Khamenei” and “my life for #Iran.” The regime’s crimes have fueled the public’s rage, burning the roots of the ruling mullahs forever. pic.twitter.com/Jdk450YeqJ
— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 21, 2022
Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the NCRI and MEK rallied in Brussels outside the European Union headquarters on Friday in solidarity with the Iranian people’s ongoing nationwide uprising and calling on the EU to adopt a strong and meaningful policy vis-à-vis the mullahs’ regime in Tehran.
NCRI President-elect Maryam Rajavi sent a video message to the rally urging the international community to “recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the regime” while warning the Iranian regime: “We tell the mullahs that the fire you set to our prisoners in Evin will soon burn your entire regime into ashes. Repression and killing did not save the Shah’s dictatorship from being overthrown, nor will it rescue religious tyranny… We urge the EU and the world to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security, expel their agents and operatives, revoke their passports, and refer to the regime’s dossier on the crackdown on Iran’s protests, and the massacres of political prisoners in 1988 and protesters in 2019 to the UN Security Council,” she continued.
The message of #IranProtests to the world & EU leaders:
Mullahs’ era has come to an end
Iranian people, their uprising, & Resistance will have the final say.
Recognize the Iranian people’s struggle to overthrow the regime!#IranRevolution#IranRegimeChangepic.twitter.com/Ij3sdjbjye— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 21, 2022
The Organization of Iranian American Communities in Washington, DC, held an online conference on Friday during which over 30 members of the U.S. House of Representatives voiced their support and solidarity for the Iranian people’s continuous anti-regime protests.
“It is time for western governments to realize that Iran is on the brink of change. My sincere gratitude to the honorable members of Congress who have supported Iran’s uprisings and the Iranian people’s Resistance for freedom. The majority of the House adopted House Resolution 118, condemning the mullahs’ regime, supporting the Iranian people’s struggle for freedom,” Mrs. Rajavi emphasized.
“The mullahs’ regime has deprived women of their most essential and fundamental rights, including the freedom to choose their attire. Women of Iran have no demands from the regime, knowing their rights can only be gained and guaranteed through the overthrow of the regime. The time has come for a new policy vis-a-vis the mullahs’ regime. It is time for western governments to realize that Iran is on the brink of change,” Mrs. Rajavi concluded.
Message to U.S Congressional meeting in support of Iran Uprising for a secular, democratic, non-nuclear republic in Iran
It is time for western governments to realize that Iran is on the brink of change#IranProtests2022#IranRevolutionpic.twitter.com/fGtd55hUeW— Maryam Rajavi (@Maryam_Rajavi) October 21, 2022
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.
