“They shoot without mercy.” Chaos on the streets of Iran. People are fed up
Six months after a 12-day war with Israel and the US bombing of Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran's leaders face public pressure due to a deteriorating economic situation and a sharp decline in the value of the local currency. [riala]. In addition, according to the authorities, there is an external threat.
After such a terrible year, “Iranians are fed up with it,” writes the liberal American magazine Atlantic. The effects of dissatisfaction can be seen on city streets. These are the largest protests in Iran since 2022.
Authorities say at least seven people have been killed in the protests, which have also spread to rural provinces.
According to the AP agency, fatalities were reported in four cities inhabited mainly by the Lur ethnic group. The most intense violence was reported in Azdana in Lorestan province. Videos showing burning cars during clashes between protesters and security forces have appeared online. Shots were also heard as protesters chanted: “Shame! Shame!”
The semi-official Fars news agency reports that there are three deaths. In Lorestan's second-largest city, Khorramabad, two people were killed during protests, with footage showing a policeman wearing a bulletproof vest armed with a shotgun.
According to Fox News, on Monday there were reports of the use of paintball ammunition in Hamadan, and tear gas was used in Tehran and Malard. Activists and human rights organizations have warned against an escalation in the authorities' response to the protests, saying brutal pacification is ongoing and security forces continue to shoot directly at demonstrators.
“It's a real battlefield, and they [siły bezpieczeństwa] they shoot without mercy,” a witness told The Guardian.
Residents of Kermanshah took to the streets on Thursday, and Iran Human Rights (IHR) said security measures in the city had been strengthened and protests continued across the country.
“If the authorities wanted dialogue, they wouldn't shoot at us.”
These are the largest protests in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, who was arrested for improperly wearing a hijab, sparked widespread demonstrations across the country.
The Iranian regime responded with limited measuresincluding the declaration of a public holiday in Tehran, which led to the closure of schools, universities – which joined the protests initially led by shopkeepers – and public institutions. The authorities are probably trying to get people out of the capital for the long weekendwrites CBS.
The government, still feeling the effects of the 12-day war with Israel in June last year, called for dialogue with the protest leaders. Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said the government should listen to the “legitimate demands” of protesters. However, protesters suspect that this is an attempt to weaken the momentum of this rare protest movement.
You would have to be naive to think that Iranians trust this government or regime. If the administration wanted to talk, they wouldn't tear gas and shoot at protesters. If she really wanted dialogue, she wouldn't have lost the participants of the 2023 protests. None of us want to talk to them. We want the mullahs gone and democracy
– said 19-year-old student Farhad in an interview for “The Guardian”.
Cyrus Reza Pahlavi spoke out
The son of the last Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, Cyrus Reza Pahlavi, who has lived in exile since the 1979 Iranian revolution and who during the war with Israel called on Iranians to overthrow the theocratic regime of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he had a “plan to bring democracy to Iranian society.”
“The current regime has reached a dead end. It is currently the most unstable: weak, deeply divided and unable to suppress the courage of the emerging nation. Growing protests show that this year will be a breakthrough moment for change,” he said in a post on X [dawniej Twitterze]calling on the international community to support the Iranian people “not only with words but also with deeds.”
Donald Trump: The United States is ready to act
America, which in June this year bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, then negotiated a peace agreement with Israel, supported the demonstrators. Trump, who previously described Iranian authorities as “brutal”, said the United States would provide aid if the regime kills peaceful protesters.
“If Iran continues to shoot and brutally kill peaceful protesters, as it has done, the United States of America will come to their aid. We are ready and armed,” Trump wrote on his “Truth Social” social media platform.
He suggested the possibility of a new attack on Iran if the country resumes work on the production of uranium necessary to create a nuclear weapon. On Tuesday, Mike Volz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that “the people of Iran want freedom” and that they “have suffered at the hands of the ayatollahs for too long.”
“We stand in solidarity with Iranians on the streets of Tehran and across the country who are protesting against a radical regime that has brought them only economic collapse and war,” he said.
Iran reacts to Trump's statement: there will be chaos!
Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, condemned Trump's statements, saying he “should know that American interference in this internal matter is tantamount to creating chaos in the entire region and destroying American interests.”
— We believe that the views of protesting traders are separate from those of destructive elements. US citizens should know that it was Trump who started this adventurous policy. They should take care of their soldiers, he said in a post on X, probably referring to the presence of American armed forces in the region.
