Defying Threats Students Hold Massive Protests Across Iran

The attackers, apparently supporters of the Islamic Republic or hired hitmen, were carrying handguns, machetes, and bats. 

They also tore up anti-regime posters and fled the scene in their Porsche, a protester told Iran International. One protester who was stabbed was taken to hospital. 

According to eyewitnesses, they seemed to be from Arab countries. 

Iranian expatriate communities are holding regular gatherings outside the Islamic Republic’s embassies around the world in support of the ongoing protests in Iran, ignited by the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. 

Last Saturday, October 22, a huge gathering of Iranians, estimated to be over 100,000 people, took to the streets in the German capital to support their fellow-countrymen protesting against the clerical regime.

The October 22 massive Freedom Rally for Iran started in Berlin in what is being described as the biggest gathering of Iranian protesters across the world. People from all corners of the continent traveled to Berlin by buses, trains and planes.

The famous Iranian-Canadian activist Hamed Esmaeilion, who lost his daughter and wife in the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane in January 2020 by the Revolutionary Guard, was one of the main campaigners to organize the global series of rallies.

Ali Khan-Mohammadi, the spokesperson of Iran’s Headquarters For Enjoining Right And Forbidding Evil, tasked with promoting the Islamic Republic’s interpretation of Islamic laws, said on Sunday that the body has signed an agreement with the country’s judiciary to use Basij paramilitary forces as hijab enforcers. 

According to the new agreement, the roles of mosques and local Basij bases will increase in the enforcement of dress code laws and commanders of Basij units will be ordained by the judiciary as official hijab enforcers.

Basij are religious zealots and a paramilitary force under the command of the Revolutionary Guard. Their involvement in hijab enforcement will further increase tensions in Iran.

Removing hijab is a legal offence by women, and the government’s position will not change in this regard, Khan-Mohammadi stressed. 

Since antigovernment protests started across the country in mid-September, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini was killed in the custody of hijab, police, many Iranian women are now appearing in public places without headscarves to express solidarity with protesters.

On Saturday, Commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Hossein Salami threatened people not to take to streets anymore saying that Saturday was the last day of protests. 

Fars news agency, affiliated with Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, reported his arrest on Sunday, describing him as one of “the leaders of the riots who promoted violence” on social media. 

The IRGC-linked news website claimed that the dissident rap artist was arrested as he was trying to cross the border and flee the country. Later in the day, his official twitter account, run by a foreign-based administrator, announced that he was arrested in western province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, which is not a border province. 

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His page also posted his conversation with the rapper, in which he told the administrator how to continue covering the events of the uprising in case of his arrest. He had told the administrator to continue publishing stories about the protests and strikes in support of the people, warning him/her not to back any political parties or politicians. 

Earlier in the year, he was summoned by a revolutionary court in the central province of Esfahan. He did not elaborate on his sentence in a tweet he posted on January 24 but wrote that his prison sentence is suspended for a year. He was previously arrested in September 2021 by dozens of security officers who raided his house. He was released on bail eight days later, pending a trial.

The prime minister, who attended a large gathering of Iranians in Ottawa with his wife, said probably when the regime changes and the situation gets better in Iran, those responsible for oppressing the people will never be forgotten and will never be allowed to come to Canada.

Trudeau is the first Western leader to acknowledge that current protests in Iran can bring about regime change.

In a powerful show of solidarity with the people in Iran, hundreds gathered in the Canadian capital on Saturday to speak out against Iran’s religious, authoritarian government.

Demonstrators formed a human chain, tramped their feet, and chanted Mahsa Amini’s name. She was the young woman whose death in September sparked the uprising in Iran.

Iran has been gripped by six weeks of protests that swept the country when Amini, 22, was arrested for not following Iran’s strict dress rules for women known as hijab. She received fatal head injuries in police custody and died on September 16.

“We will stand with you, I will march with you, and I will hold hands with you,” Trudeau said, adding “We will continue to stand with this beautiful community and demonstrate to the world that we will not forget Mahsa Amini.”

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Elsewhere in his remarks Trudeau stressed, “We know there are people in Canada now who have benefited from the corrupt, from the horrific regime in Iran and who are hiding amongst ... this beautiful community.”

In recent years, several Iranian officials accused of corruption or human rights abuses have been seen in Canada, either permanently or on a trip.

One of them was Mahmoud-Reza Khavari, the former CEO of the state-owned Melli Bank, who fled to Canada in 2010, after being accused of embezzling billions of dollars.

The other was Morteza Talaei the former commander of Tehran’s police force. He was in office when the regime beat the Canadian-Iranian journalist Zahra Kazemi to death in Evin Prison in 2003. A photograph was published on social media showing him at a gym near Toronto in 2020. His presence in Canada sparked outrage among Iranians who urged the government to expel officials and agents of the Islamic Republic.

During the rally on Saturday Trudeau said “Taking advantage of Canada's freedoms, Canada's opportunities, and using the riches they stole from the Iranian people to live a good life in Canada. Well, we say no more.”

The Canadian premier also noted that his government will be working to ensure his country is never again a safe haven for “killers, murderers, and those responsible for the oppression of Iranian people.”

Trudeau also raised his fist chanting slogans in Persian saying, “We will stand with you. I’ll march with you, I will hold hands with you. We will continue to stand with this beautiful community.”

After his statements, Trudeau accompanied hundreds of protesters in a march across the city.

Iranian diaspora also held similar demonstrations and formed human chains in other cities from Australian to Berlin and to Canada, including, Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver.

The shift in the Trudeau cabinet's approach to Iran comes as he was criticized earlier on Iranian social media for not participating at any event or demonstration related to Iran.

Many believe the Canadian government has realized the facts on the ground have changed and increasing pressure by the Iranian-Canadians has finally brought about a change in policy.

The unprecedented protests that have rocked more than 100 cities since mid-September have now challenged the legitimacy of regime’s rule.

As supreme leader Ali Khamenei tries to quell the protests, every day a new move by Iranians inside and outside the country startles his regime.

The United States has time and again announced that in the current situation it will not hold negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, but president Ebrahim Raisi’s team at the foreign ministry keep making false claims about the willingness of the West for talks. These claims seem to be an attempt to make up for the legitimacy crisis that is tightening the noose on the clerical government in the light of intense public protests.

Supreme leader Khamenei, who considers himself the embodiment of the “sovereignty of God” on earth, seems to be unable to show “heroic flexibility” this time to save his rule. Khamenei first used the term in 2013 when he acknowledged that he had allowed negotiations with the West over Iran’s nuclear program.

Decades of political repression, pervasive corruption, and mismanagement have eroded public confidence in the government and now with the help of Iranian diaspora the West is under pressure to get tough with the clerical regime.

The United States has openly stated that its “focus” now is on “the remarkable bravery and courage that the Iranian people are exhibiting through their peaceful demonstrations”, and the EU has come up with new sanctions on Tehran since the protests began.

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Iran’s supply of drones to Russia in its war against Ukraine has also made the situation worse for the Islamic Republic.

During previous antigovernment protests in Iran since 1999, the West had usually stayed aloof, not showing strong support for the protesters who mostly remained unknown to foreigners. This time, the world is paying more attention, as the unrest began with the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman, which garnered strong sympathy around the globe. At the same time Iran’s unwillingness to compromise on the nuclear issue and its military assistance to Russia persuaded the US and even Germany to adopt tougher positions.

The situation now is so awkward that pundits inside the country are warning the government of the consequences of its misguided domestic and foreign policies.

In an interview with Nameh website, Iranian political analyst Amir Ali Abolfat’h said that with these policies, the situation will not change, and negative conditions will continue to bedevil the regime.

“The [continuation] of verbal attacks and propaganda war of the parties [Iran and the West] will worsen the atmosphere for public diplomacy as a result,” he added.

In his opinion, Iranian officials are making “optimistic statements” about the fate of the nuclear deal, but the US and its three European allies show “no sign of a return to the 2015 nuclear deal”.

The Iranian regime should understand that without public legitimacy it cannot reach agreements with the international community, the commentator added.

Hardliners must know that they cannot quell the protests indefinitely because young Iranians, who comprise almost 65% of the country’s population, are weary of decades of revolutionary rhetoric and theocratic dictates.

Hamid Reza Jalaiepour a reformist political activist said as long as the Islamic Republic shows no flexibility, the situation will get worse, and the society will see more protests.

In an interview with Aftabnews earlier this week, he criticized the fundamental approach of the regime saying that “the country has been the scene of nationwide protests for [over] a month, but people’s requests have fallen on deaf ears. The power institutions must show flexibility toward the people's demands, which is not the case now.”