NCRI

Iran News in Brief – October 7, 2022

Sedighe Shahrokhi

iran-protests-crackdown

THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED WITH THE LATEST NEWS

UPDATE: 11:00 PM CEST

Iran Uprising at a Glance – Day 22

Partially based on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Social Headquarters in Iran

The Count:

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As the Iran Uprising against the religious dictatorship continues into its fourth week, the sheer courage, outrage, and defiance of Iran’s younger generation have rocked the political spectrum inside Iran and around the world. The slogans of the protesters and their audacious calls for fundamental change have forced the regime and its loyalists on their back foot.

The regime has launched a total Internet blackout and a brutal crackdown that has not gone well with Iranian youth and the general population fighting back to safeguard their lives and their loved ones.

Iran’s so-called “moderates”, always a safety valve for the regime, have been side-lined during the current crisis, and have been all but forgotten as neither the regime’s hardcore nor the protesters consider them a serious force. Their spokesman in the “Reform Front”, Abolfazl Shakouri-Rad lamented that a bipolar situation has taken shape in Iran and his faction has been left out of the political struggle led by the uprising for regime change.

“Reformists cannot do anything but sit on the fence and watch what is going on,” he said in an interview with the sympathetic Fararu website, adding that “the two main players in the bipolar game are fighting each other at the expense of the society. In the meantime, we Reformists do not know what is happening, and what the future is going to look like… The younger generation no longer believes in us and because of that we have been marginalized in Iran.”

The bewilderment of the regime’s apologists inside the country (so-called reformists) goes hand in hand with the shock of the establishment (Ali Khamenei and his hardcore loyalists), as both are in a state of denial about the simmering revolution before their eyes.

Iran’s Generation Z is in a fighting mood and will no longer take it. The world too has begun to recognize and support their aspiration for change and their right to legitimate defense against a brutal crackdown by a religious fascist regime.

Yesterday‎‎, on the 21st day of the uprising, people in different parts of Tehran, including Amirabad, the eastern region of Tehran, Tajrish, Gheytarieh, Valiasr, Mashriyeh, Amir Bahador, and Heravi Square, chanted slogans of Death to Dictator and Death to Khamenei.

‎The cities of Isfahan, Mashhad, Islamshahr, Azimieh, Parand and Mehrshahr, Karaj, Gohardasht, Rasht, Urmia, Sanandaj, Shiraz, and Qom witnessed nightly demonstrations and continuous car horns in support of the protesters.‎

‎On Thursday, students demonstrated in Tehran, Bukan, and Parand, chanting Death to Dictator.‎

State Officials Warn of MEK’s Role, and Impact in the Uprising

During his Friday prayer sermon, Esmail Mousavi, the Supreme Leader’s representative in Mahmudabad said: “What we were witnessing inside the country was actually the excitement of ignorance as well as the mercenary activism of the hypocrisy (the Iranian regime’s term for slandering against the MEK in Iran’s society).”

While calling for an all-out crackdown, he dubbed the state’s security as people’s security, and added: “People’s security is a red line and there should be no compromise in this regard.”

Khamenei’s representative in Qom Alireza Erafi said: “Thanks to the sedition of the MEK and the enemies, we have seen many damaging incidents during the past weeks.”

“The thread of the recent events was done by the MEK operatives, but the ignorance of some VIPs as well as [the officials’] ambivalence was also effective,” he warned.

The official IRNA news agency quoted MP Mehdi Bagheri as saying on October 7: “The recent incidents and the martyrdom of a number of security guards, as well as the innocent people, showed that this was a planned action by the enemies and ill-wishers of our Islamic state, including the MEK.”

While literally ignoring the systemic crackdown on protesters, he added: “One of the main causes of riots was the disorder that comes from the internet. Because violence, vandalism, and even killing were promoted with the cynical education that was given to the audience.”

Alireza Panahian, a state-affiliated cleric also said on October 6: “Some mistakes can be forgiven, but paving the way [for the riots] by the MEK should not be easily overlooked. The MEK is looking to polarize the society.”

Comparing the nationwide uprising to a world war, Morteza Kashkuli, IRGC commander in Lorestan province, said on September 6: “Four days ago in Tehran, when the university students came to the streets from 9 am, we had protests at 108 different points.”

“Among the arrested, we also had some children of the old MEK members,” he stressed.

During his speech at the Friday prayer sermon, Abolhasan Mahdavi, Khamenei’s representative in Isfahan said: “Of course, the enemies are always looking for different excuses to exploit the situation. The sedition of the universities in 1999 had nothing to do with the hijab. Back then, they wanted to provoke our dear students. During the 2009 election, when they lost, they wanted to avenge themselves. in 2019, they used gasoline prices as an excuse [to revolt]. Therefore, as the supreme leader said, the enemy doesn’t really care about hijab, they used this as an excuse. They are looking for another goal. Their main goal is to destroy the Islamic state.”

“There are always some leaders in riots. There are people who want to use some young people for the goals they are pursuing. They always want to abuse and disrupt the order of the society,” he added.

IRGC and Basij commander Azim Ebrahimpour said on state TV on October 7: “In different cities, we see that there are five-men strong units among the protesters. These five-people-units are connected to each other, both boys and girls. Sometimes, the leaders are women. They are trained and enter a street. If the street is narrow, one five-person unit will do the job. As the street becomes wider, two or three units are allocated. These units disrupt one city in one night and then go to the next one. These days, we are arresting new faces, people who have no criminal record whatsoever. They are trained and we have to separate them from the rest.”

UPDATE: 8:30 AM CEST

Iran Uprising at a Glance- Day 21

Partially based on reporting by PMOI (MEK) Social Headquarters inside Iran

Protest Updates

Iran Protests – Meeting With a Group of MEPs

Strasbourg, October 5, 2022 – On the eve of a vote on a resolution at the European Parliament in support of the Iranian people’s nationwide protests, at the invitation of the Friends of Free Iran, Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) explained the latest developments related to the Iranian people’s uprising to a group of members of the European Parliament. Mrs. Rajavi said, “Today, Iran is on the brink of change, and women play a major role in the current uprising against this misogynist regime that denies women’s basic rights.”

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PMOI: Hundreds Arrested in Iran While Filming Protests

The Social Headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization (PMOI/MEK) in Iran has detailed how oppressive agents of the Iranian regime have targeted protesters, specifically those who have been gathering footage of the uprising in universities and different locations across Iran. Agents have shot protesters with pellets and paintballs to prevent them from disseminating information or sending clips of the protests over the Internet. According to the report, hundreds of people who were taking videos of the uprisings have been arrested so far.

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Live Report: Iran Protests Continue Despite the Regime’s Intense Crackdown Initiative

Thursday marked the 21st consecutive day of nationwide protests against the Iranian regime. Iran’s protests have up to now expanded to 172 cities and all 31 provinces across the country. According to reports gathered by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), the regime has so far killed 400 civilians and arrested 20,000 others.

On Thursday, high school students returned to the streets despite measures by the regime to prevent protests from taking shape. In Qazvin, students were chanting, “Imprisoned college students must be released!” In Parand (Tehran), students chanted, “I will kill those who killed my sister!” Protests were also reported in Eslmashar, Qods City, and Sanandaj.

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European Parliament Slams Iran Regime Over Repression of Women’s Rights

The European Parliament adopted a strongly worded resolution on Thursday, October 6, expressing support for the “young Iranian women leading and participating in the protests despite the difficulties and personal repercussions they are facing.”

The European Parliament condemned the death of Mahsa Amini in Iran and asked for EU sanctions against her killers and those involved in suppressing the ensuing protests.

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Demonstrations of Iranian Resistance Supporters in Turin, Vienna, Brussels, and Hanover in Support of the Iran Protests

3 and 4 October 2022: Freedom-loving Iranians and supporters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) in Turin, Vienna, Brussels, and Hanover held rallies and expressed solidarity and support for the nationwide protests in the country. Iranian Resistance supporters in Turin, Vienna, Brussels, and Hanover protested the suppression of the current uprising across Iran.

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Also, read Iran News in Brief – October 6, 2022

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