The balance of the attack in the south is 15 dead and 19 wounded. According to some groups, it was a diversionary maneuver by the regime to justify greater repression. At least 10,000 people gathered at the Saghez cemetery to pay tribute to the young Kurdish woman. Local sources report that projectiles and tear gas were used against the demonstrators. The country’s prisons are no longer in a position to house more detainees.
Tehran () – The death toll in the attack on a famous Shiite shrine in Shiraz, in southern Iran, has risen to 15 dead and 19 injured. The attack took place yesterday and was claimed hours later by a cell of the Islamic State (EI, former Isis) active in the country. Tehran authorities have arrested an armed man implicated in the attack who, according to Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, must be attributed to “terrorists and foreign whippersnappers who claim to defend human rights.” This is an accusation that the leaders of the Islamic Republic extend to those who fuel the protests over the death of Mahsa Amini. And that coincides with the 40 days that have passed since the beginning of the protests, which yesterday registered new acts of violence and arrests perpetrated by the security forces.
According to dissident groups, including the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), the attack should not be attributed to ISIS, but was an act by the regime to justify further repression. For its part, the official line asserts that the attack on Shah Cheragh’s mausoleum was an operation carried out by a lone terrorist during afternoon prayer. The aggressor, explains Governor Mohammad-Hadi Imanieh, opened fire “indiscriminately against the faithful” and was arrested shortly after. President Ebrahim Raisi promised a “very tough response” against ISIS, which has already hit Iran in the past, as it did in 2017 with a double attack on Parliament and the tomb of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruholá Khomeini.
The attack on the Shiite shrine coincided with a new crackdown on protests over the death of the 22-year-old Kurdish woman at the hands of the Moral Police in mid-September. The woman herself died after being detained without justification, for the mere fact that she did not wear the hijab correctly, a symbol of the oppression of the ayatollahs. On the 40th day since the assassination, students and women staged demonstrations in various cities. One of the nerve centers of the protest was the Aichi cemetery in Saghez, where Mahsa Amini is buried. There, almost 10,000 people – men and women, young and old – once again chanted slogans in favor of freedom and rights, demanding justice for the murdered young woman.
We are facing one of the most impressive and massive waves of protest since the founding of the Islamic Republic in 1979, which the theocratic regime in Tehran does not hesitate to repress by force: a balance of more than 200 deaths is estimated (according to some sources up to 240 in just over a month), including 27 children. In Saghez there were heavy clashes between protesters and security forces, who reportedly opened fire on the crowd, using bullets and tear gas. At the same time, the authorities blocked communications and the Internet to prevent the dissemination of images and videos of the violence, both on social networks and among activist groups. The Norwegian NGO Hengaw, which monitors human rights violations in the Kurdish area of Iran, reports that “security forces fired tear gas and opened fire on people in Zindan Square in the city of Saghez”, although it does not clarify whether there were more deaths or injuries.
Despite the threats, the people made their voices heard on the 40th day: a symbolic date, since in Islam it coincides with the end of the mourning period. According to Muslim tradition, the soul separates from the body and prepares for paradise. Hence the decision to establish checkpoints, tighten censorship, deploy even more agents and close schools and universities in the Kurdish region for “health-related issues”. Local sources report that Mahsa Amini’s family received an intimidating phone call, ordering them not to hold vigils or ceremonies in his honor.
All in all, the repression of the ayatollahs does not manage to stop the revolt, rather the opposite happens. For the first time, the government has to release protesters because the country’s prisons can no longer hold detainees – in fact, some are held for a few hours and then released. According to a document prepared for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the regime detained 20,445 protesters in the first two weeks of the protests. The report indicates that 42% are under 20 years old. For the first time in recent history, the head of the judiciary, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje’i, said that Tehran is “willing to talk to the protesters”, but the Iranians are skeptical and do not believe in the opening of the government.
