In Iran, the showdown between protesters and security forces continues. Tens of thousands continue to demonstrate, led by women. The riots were originally triggered by the death of a young woman who had been arrested by the vice squad in mid-September and died. In the meantime, however, the protests have been directed against the Islamist regime itself. They have swept through almost the entire country and have become one of the most serious challenges facing the Islamic Republic in the four decades of its existence. Even if they are not yet considered a system threat, they could become one: workers in the oil and gas industry are now showing solidarity.
Meanwhile, diplomatic circles have confirmed that the EU has agreed on sanctions against Iran, which are due to be decided at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday.
According to the network protection organization Net Blocks, it is not without reason that the authorities in Iran again drastically throttled the Internet against the background of new calls for protests. “This approach is likely to make communication and the organization of protests more difficult,” explained Net Blocks: The protesters organize themselves via social media. In addition, there were renewed reports of the actions of the security forces, who not only used batons, electric shockers and shot, but also fired live. The situation was particularly tense in the Kurdish part of the country. According to the AP, large numbers of security forces and equipment are said to have been moved there.
The Oslo-based human rights organization “Iran Human Rights” recently named the number of 201 victims. It was unclear whether any security forces who died were among them. According to state information, more than 20 police officers have already been killed. The protests that began on September 16 were triggered by the death of Mahsa Amini. During a visit to the capital, Tehran, she was stopped and apparently beaten by the vice squad because she allegedly wore a headscarf too revealingly. She went into a coma and died in a hospital three days later, on September 16.
Officially, the cause of death is unclear. While the family speaks of brain injuries from beatings, the Home Office denies this. A forensic state investigation also ruled out violence. However, brain trauma was seen on medical images taken from the hospital and said to show Amini’s head.
Iranian-Kurdish rebels in Iraq are attacked in order to divert the protests to the outside world
The unrest in the Kurdish areas of the country is particularly violent: Mahsa Amini was Kurdish. Her father had repeated the allegations in a BBC interview, among other things. Her brother, who witnessed the arrest, also said his sister’s head had been hit by a police car.
Iranian troops again attacked Iranian-Kurdish rebel camps in neighboring Iraq with rockets and artillery, apparently in order to divert the force of the protests to the outside world. The government claims the protests are being fueled by “foreign forces”. The regime had already claimed in previous riots that these bore the hallmarks of the United States. Interior Minister Ahmad Wahidi said: “Our enemies believe that by supporting the protests they can bring about a political overthrow. But this thought is stupid because they know nothing about the country.”
The fact that women have put themselves at the forefront of the protest movement, whose iconic characteristics include the removed headscarf and cropped hair, must make the regime nervous. Acting violently against women seems even more brutal than the security forces have shown in the past. It must be particularly worrying for those in power that the demonstrations are affecting all ethnic and religious groups and that the protests are being supported by people from all walks of life.
Parts of the bazaar traders have also joined the protest. Workers in the Iranian oil and gas industry are said to be showing solidarity as well. The Bloomberg news agency reported strikes at the Abadan refinery in the southwest and at a gas plant in Assaluyeh on the Persian Gulf. Should these unconfirmed reports come true, it would be threatening for the regime: The resource industry is vital.