Over 30,000 Iranians are dead and tens of thousands have been arrested as protests continue in Iran. This is the largest mass uprising in Iran since the 1979 revolution which put the current government in place.
Initially sparked by a fall in the Rial, protests quickly spread across the country for the overthrow of the government. Protests in Tehran, the capital, have been especially active. According to Iran International, over 1.5 million protestors took to the streets on Jan. 8. That same night, the internet was cut nationwide.
The government responded harshly, using live ammunition, tear gas, beatings, and torture against protestors. Footage online showed dozens of body bags piling up inside and outside of hospitals as they struggle to keep up with the number of injured. Due to the cut in internet, many international organizations fear the true number of injured and dead to be much higher than they know.
On Jan. 9, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei labelled protestors as “terrorists” and said they were “mercenaries serving foreign powers.” At the time of writing, the Iranian government has put the death toll at 3,117, of whom 2,447 were civilians and security forces, and the rest were terrorists. Khamenei has acknowledged the minimum death toll, however, he blamed the U.S. and Israel for encouraging protests.
Protestors were emboldened with support internationally including from Reza Pahlavi, the son of the Shah who was overthrown in 1979. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the U.S. is “locked and loaded and ready to go” to support the protestors if the government harms any protestors.
The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group was moved to the Middle East in a show of force against the Islamic Republic as Trump continues to express support for protestors. On Jan. 29, an Iranian defence ministry spokesperson stated that Iran would respond “forcefully” to an American attack.
Speaking to NBC News, a protester from Isfahan recounted that security forces pulled up to a protest on motorcycles, firing indiscriminately into a crowd that had gathered. “They just started shooting people straight into their faces and bodies.”
Although protests in Iran are nothing new, many sources both within and outside of Iran all agree that this one feels different. The crackdown is harsher, the amount of protests larger, and the duration has been much longer.
Featured image: The Guardian
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