A large billboard reading “Women of my country, Iran” depicts Iranian women, all wearing the hijab, in Tehran’s Valiasr Square on October 13, 2022. STR / AFP
Iran faces a new day of excitement. Despite authorities blocking access to popular apps like Instagram and WhatsApp, activists launched an online call for mass protests on Saturday (October 15) under the slogan “The beginning of the end!”. of the regime.
They encouraged young people and the general Iranian population to march in places where security forces are not present and chant “Death to the Dictator” in a nod to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Despite deadly repression, the mobilization sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini entered its fifth week, and protesters on Friday night received the support of Joe Biden, who pledged that the United States was “bravely on the side of the citizens” of Iran’s women “. “I was amazed at what it had awakened in Iran. It sparked something that I don’t think will go away for a long, long time,” Trump said during a trip to California.
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Women “must be able to wear what they want to wear”
Joe Biden traveled to Irvine, Southern California, to give a speech on a very different topic, the cost of healthcare in the United States. But upon seeing a group of demonstrators, some waving “Free Iran” signs, he spoke of the protest that is currently sweeping the Islamic Republic. Women “must be able to wear what they want, good God,” he said, adding: “Iran must end violence against its own citizens who are merely exercising their basic rights. »
In line with Joe Biden, the American executive branch showed its support for the demonstrations in Iran more clearly on Friday. Foreign Minister Antony Blinken received representatives of the Iranian diaspora, while Vice President Kamala Harris invited actress and activist Nazanin Boniadi.
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“We are witnessing something remarkable across the country, led primarily by women and young people,” said the head of American diplomacy. Kamala Harris said in a statement that “the courage of these women has inspired them as it has inspired the world,” and pledged Washington’s help to her guest to “ensure these important voices are heard, including facilitating access to the.” Internet”. in Iran.
Anti-riot rallies are also planned
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has repeatedly accused the United States, Tehran’s nemesis, of wanting to destabilize his country. The Islamic Republic also accused France of “meddling” after President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that Paris “condemns the repression carried out by the Iranian regime today”.
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The protest movement has prompted solidarity rallies abroad, as well as Western sanctions against Iranian officials and institutions accused of involvement in the crackdown.
On Saturday, in addition to the protest movement, “anti-riot” rallies are planned in “all mosques in the country (…) to counteract the attacks by Iran’s enemies,” according to a press release from the Coordinating Council for Islamic Development for organizing official events.
In Tehran, students at an Iranian girls’ high school who have joined nationwide anti-government protests show photos of Khomeini, the founder, and Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the middle finger and chanting the slogan “Death to the dictator”. Salampix/ABACA
Outrage over the death of Mahsa Amini on September 16 has sparked the largest wave of protests in Iran since the 2019 protests over rising fuel prices in the oil-rich country.
This 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman was arrested by the Morality Police in Tehran on September 13 for what she believed to be violations of the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code for women, including wearing the veil. Iranian authorities claim the young woman died of an illness and not “beatings,” according to a medical report rejected by her father. Her cousin said she died after “a severe blow to the head.”
Since then, young women, students and schoolchildren have led protests, chanting anti-government slogans, setting fire to their headscarves and confronting the security forces.
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At least 108 people killed
At least 108 people have been killed since September 16, according to the Oslo-based Iran Human Rights (IHR) Association. For its part, Amnesty International deplored the deaths of at least 23 minors “killed by Iranian security forces”, adding that they were aged between 11 and 17.
Two security forces personnel were also shot dead amid the protests in southern Fars province, bringing the number of security force personnel killed to at least 20 since the protests began, official media reported on Friday.
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Analysts say the complexity of anti-government protests, including young people gathering in small groups in certain neighborhoods to avoid detection, makes it difficult for law enforcement to try to stop them.
In an open letter published on its front page on Thursday, the reformist newspaper Etemad called on Iran’s top security official to end arrests on “sometimes flimsy grounds”.
Rarely, Tehran police announced on Friday that they would investigate allegations of harassment against one of their agents. The latter was filmed apparently sexually assaulting a protester who had just been arrested, according to a video released by foreign broadcasters.
In the past few days, there have been deadly clashes between demonstrators and security forces, especially in Sanandaj, the capital of the Iranian province of Kurdistan, where Mahsa Amini came from.