Protests erupted in Saravan in Sistan and Baluchistan province, southeast Iran, after the regime’s forces opened fired on a group of deprived fuel porters, killing and injuring dozens. Protests soon spread across the province, with angry protesters targeting the regime’s centers of oppression, showing the regime has failed in controlling the restive society.
Youth in the Sarjangal neighborhood near Zahedan, capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province, stormed and captured a Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) base despite the IRGC opening fire on the crowd.
According to reports obtained by the Iranian Resistance, the regime sent military convoys to Sistan and Baluchistan. People in response created roadblocks and frustrated the oppressive forces. Small business owners in cities of Zahedan and Iranshahr went on strike in solidarity with arisen people across the province.
On February 27, rebellious youths set fire to Ashar district offices, 60 km from Sarbaz city. At the same time, protesters blocked the Panjshir-Mirjavah axis and the Chabahar-Kanarak transit axis to prevent the deployment of additional reinforcements.
Protesters in Zahedan closed the streets in “Khomeini square” at the city entrance on Friday night. In another development, the people of Sarbaz set fire to the police kiosk in “Sarbaz Bridge.”
The regime has opened fire on protesters, killing dozens of them. Protests in Sistan and Baluchistan have terrified the regime, reminding them of the major Iran protests in November 2019 which rattled the regime to the core.
While trying to undermine people’s justified anger of the regime’s oppressive measures, Ahmad Ali Mohebati, Sistan and Baluchistan’s governor, warned the regime’s officials:
“We are now in an atmosphere where rationality does not prevail, but emotions and excitement prevail [i.e., people’s hatred toward the regime], we must be vigilant. If something unpleasant happens, the dry or wet, hardliner or reformist and all officials will burn together,” he said on Thursday.
The recent uprising in Sistan and Baluchistan has several characteristics:
- These protests showed the Iranian society’s explosive state and how a spark could trigger protests.
- Protests rapidly spread across the province.
- The uprising received wide social support from the Iranian people, with small businesses going on strike in solidarity with the uprising.
- The uprising also showed that despite its hollow power exhibition, the regime’s local oppressive forces are not able to control the situation. Thus, the regime has to send forces from other cities, showing the regime’s force mobilization crisis in facing a nationwide uprising.
In a nutshell, the ongoing protests in Sistan and Baluchistan foretell an inevitable uprising in Iran which will succeed to end the mullahs’ 42 years of oppression.
