Nationwide Coverage Of Protests In Iran On September 21

Pahlavi said on Tuesday that "continuing and expanding protests and strikes is the key to victory," describing the recent protests as the most significant since November 2019 and a "point of no return" on the way to "taking back our country from the anti-Iranian regime of the Islamic Republic".

Pahlavi lauded "the brave and justice-seeking women" of Iran and participation of different strata of the Iranian society in the ongoing protests, adding that the events of the last few days would foil the Islamic Republic’s efforts “to create division” among Iranians.

He also called on the "agents of repression" of the protests to "join the open arms of the nation as long as there is a chance."

The latest round of nationwide protests in Iran appears to be different from the protests that have rocked the Islamic Republic since 2017 in more than one way.

The protests that started in Tehran late evening on September 16 following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, 22, was not triggered by financial hardships Iranians have been experiencing in recent years.

On Wednesday, students at some universities such as the University of Tehran and Allameh Tabataba'i University as well as Al-Zahra University -- a female-only public university – held protest rallies, chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic’s authorities with many women removing their headscarves.

Universities in the cities of Semnan, Tabriz, and Orumiyeh (Urmia) were also scenes of similar protests as the country is going into the fifth day of unrest over the death of a young woman in custody of hijab enforcement patrols.

The protests started after the death of the 22-year-old Mahsa Amini first in her hometown and then reached the capital Tehran and expanded to many Iranian cities and towns, with several people reported dead and hundreds injured or arrested.

The videos sent to Iran International show that in the funeral ceremony of Farjad Darvishi, who was killed by security forces during the protests in Orumiyeh on Tuesday, the participants chanted “Death to the Dictator,” a reference to the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

In his speech to military commanders on Wednesday, Khamenei did not mention the ongoing protests that can pose a serious challenge to his rule.

Khamenei spoke for the second time in a week despite earlier reports that he had a serious health issue and was under observation by doctors. This time the occasion was the 42nd anniversary of Iraq’s sudden invasion of Iran in September 1980 that led to a bloody and destructive 8-year war.

The Treasury made the comment in reaction to a tweet by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, suggesting that a license is not needed to provide the firm's Starlink satellite broadband service in the country.

Some people on Twitter had asked Musk to provide the satellite-based internet stations as he did for the people of Ukraine after the Russian invasion. However, most Ukrainians have not been able to access the internet via Starlink because it needs special equipment and is somehow too complicated to set up. Also, the Iranian government would allow any equipment intended for circumventing its internet censorship to enter the country.

The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has a longstanding license that "authorizes certain exports to Iran of hardware, software, and services related to communications over the internet, including certain consumer-grade Internet connectivity services and residential consumer satellite terminals authorized under General License D-1," a department spokesperson said, without specifying whether the license would apply to Musk's plans.

On Monday, Musk said that his company will ask for an exemption from US sanctions to provide Internet access for Iranians as the country is engulfed in widespread protests over the death of a young woman in the custody of hijab enforcement patrols.

Since protests over the death of Mahsa Amini have started, internet connection was significantly slowed down, a strategy the government usually uses during protests to prevent news of unrest reaching the rest of the country and abroad.

Khamenei spoke for the second time in a week despite earlier reports that he had a serious health issue and was under observation by doctors. This time the occasion was the 42nd anniversary of Iraq’s sudden invasion of Iran in September 1980 that led to a bloody and destructive 8-year war.

According to what government-controlled media has reported about his speech, Khamenei solely spoke about the “Sacred Defense” as the Islamic Republic calls the Iran-Iraq war and did not utter even one word abou anti-regime protests that started last Friday.

The trigger for the sudden wave of unprecedented unrest was the killing of a 22-year-old woman who received fatal brain injuries in the custody of the dreaded religious police, apparently for her insufficient hijab. Khamenei also ignored the tragic death that led to the current protests.

Many pundits and politicians had been warning for months about increasing discontent amid both economic hardships and a tightening of Islamic lifestyle limitations particularly on women.

The fact that Khamenei did not mention the protests could be a sign that the regime is baffled by the ferocity of the protests and the apparent lack of fear among the people who confronted police, anti-riot forces and Basij paramilitary agents in the streets on Monday and specially on Tuesday.

People posted many videos on social media showing how crowds overpowered government forces and forced them to retreat. In many instances, when the protesters identified a government agent or caught a policeman off guard, they attacked and assaulted them without fear.

For reasons that are not clear the clerical-military regime has so far not used overwhelming military force against protesters that took over streets in more than 40 cities and town Tuesday evening and well into the night.

In November 2019 when people came out to protest a government decision to suddenly raise gasoline prices, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) almost immediately led military, paramilitary and intelligence agents to mercilessly open fire on the people, killing at least 1,500 in in less than a week .

Since then, the regime has become somewhat weaker because of a long-running economic crisis triggered by United States’ sanctions as well as its own corruption and mismanagement. People’s patience and hopes for an improvement have dwindled and the IRGC has also been weakened by signs of an inability to confront foreign infiltrations.

Its feared intelligence organization was reshuffled in June as saboteurs killed several key members of its secret networks, leaving the all-powerful organization publicly embarrassed.

Some also believe that the regime is holding back because President Ebrahim Raisi is currently in New York, attending the UN General Assembly.

It is possible that the regime finds it hard to act decisively in a dangerous situation and perhaps hopes that the protests would eventually die down. It is also possible that it is preparing for a military crackdown, which can start at any moment.

But Khamenei was much more decisive in 2019, when he gave a speech as the killing was taking place and signaled to his forces to show no mercy, accusing protesters of being foreign agents and hoodlums.

Iran’s 83-year-old ruler also did not mention foreign policy or the nuclear negotiations with the US in his Wednesday speech. He has been conspicuously silent about the matter in recent months as his diplomats have engaged in a long series of talks lasting 17 months, as his other entities are expanding Iran’s nuclear program.

On Tuesday and Wednesday some state-owned websites, including the website of the Central Bank of Iran, were targeted by hackers claiming to be from the ‘Anonymous’ hacking group. A member of the group posted a message to the Iranians on Twitter on Tuesday, saying, "We are here with you. The operations against Iran began. wait for us."

At least two main websites of the Iranian government and some state-affiliated media webs as well as the state broadcaster IRIB were among the targets, some of whom were back on line after a few hours. One of the websites of the government hosts “smart services” and another is dedicated to publishing government news and interviews with officials.

“All database has been deleted,” claimed a social media account believed to be affiliated with Anonymous. 

A video was also released early on Wednesday showing footage of protests in several Iranian cities that have erupted since Mahsa Amini died in custody of the hijab enforcement patrols. “This was the last straw,” an altered voice on the video said of Amini’s death. “The Iranian people are not alone”.

Following large anti-government protests in Tehran and Amini’s hometown as well as a couple of other cities in the Kurdistan province, demonstrations expanded Tuesday to many Iranian cities and towns, with gunshots reported.