By Staff Writer
At a press briefing in Paris on Thursday, representatives of the National Council of Resistance of Iran provided detailed information about Iranian protests that have continued for eight months in spite of intense repression. The briefing was held on the closing day of an exhibition marking the 30th anniversary of the et ses racines https://t.co/PoU0ASqi6K
— CNRI-France (@CNRIFrance) August 16, 2018
The Iranian Resistance cited the following factors for the roots of the ongoing protests:
“The trigger for each demonstration in each town and city or region has its own root: the scarcity of drinking water, lack of water for agriculture, ecological and environmental disasters, poverty, misery and hunger, financial corruption, the delay of wage payments, repression and even football matches as in Ahwaz, Tehran and Isfahan in August, which turned into demonstrations against the regime with the cry of ‘down with the dictatorship’.
The most recent demonstrations began on July 31st, after being widely publicized on Resistance-affiliated social media networks. The main protests were in Isfahan, Shiraz, Karaj and Tehran. The regime suppressed these demonstrations using tear gas, and in Karaj a 26-year-old protester, Reza Otadi was shot dead while working in the local bazaar. In Tehran, 43 people were arrested at Azadi Stadium.
Other methods of repression include the use of signal jammers. In Karaj, internet access was cut off for two days. In an effort to conceal its repression tactics, the regime sent officials to the scene of protests in plain clothes, but Resistance activists were able to identify and photograph them, confirming that repression is carried out directly by IRGC.
The NCRI briefing declared that demonstrations will continue thanks to the activity of PMOI-affiliated networks, which will continue to multiply. NCRI officials also concluded that the regime is being worn down by this and by a still-deteriorating economic situation, meaning that the disintegration and overthrow of the regime is close at hand.
In a recent speech, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei justified this conclusion, saying that any change in the regime’s behavior would result in regime change.
