Iran’s president warns hijab protesters will be ‘dealt with decisively’ as ‘up to 100’ killed in chilling crackdown
IRAN's President has warned protestors will be "dealt with decisively" in a chilling message amid a violent crackdown on nationwide anti-government protests that have so far left dozens dead.
The Islamic Republic has been plunged into chaos after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was allegedly beaten, arrested and left in a coma by the regime's morality police - The Guidance Patrol - for not following the country's strict hijab laws.
Women have played an integral role during the latest protests. They have shaved their heads, burnt their hijabs and garnered support in a bid to challenge Iran's decades-long Islamic dress code.
What started as protests against police brutality soon turned to wider social and political grievances against the regime.
Slogans heard during the hours after Mahsa's death said: "Guidance Patrol is a killer", "I swear by Mahsa's blood, Iran will be free" and "[Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei is a murderer, his government is invalid".
Within hours, security forces turned to the use of lethal force against people in the streets to quash the demonstrations, and the list of casualties is growing.
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'Shoot to kill'
On Saturday, President Ebrahim Raisi said Iran must "deal decisively with those who oppose the country's security and tranquillity", state TV reported.
In Instagram messages, protesters, who cannot be identified for security reasons, reacted to the announcement.
One wrote: "They are literally shooting to kill this time. I've been at all the major protests over the past 2 decades. This time it's like nothing I've ever seen. Their numbers, their aggression, their equipment. It's insane.
"They're everywhere in huge numbers but ppl [sic] are not being intimidated even though the leader today said they should not compromise a single bit with protesters.
The Instagram user said they would immediately delete the conversation string for safety reasons.
Iran's victims
While opposition groups claim up to 100 people have been killed so far in the regime's crackdown, the identities of some of the victims have now been revealed.
A ten-year-old girl, Dina Zahraei, was killed in Bukan in West Azerbaijan Province. Distressing have emerged of members of her family desperately trying to get her lifeless body to safety. Dina was shot in the head.
Ghazale Chelavi, a 32-year-old mountaineer, was killed as she protested in Amol in Mazandaran Province in northern Iran. He friend told Iranian journalist Masih Alinejad Ghazale "had been shot in the head".
Hananeh Kian was shot dead when she was on her way home from the dentist in Nowshahr, in Mazandaran Province. She was 23.
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Mahsa Mogoi was 18 when she was shot dead by the regime's security forces in Fuladshahr in the Isfahan province.
Another victim has been named as 30-year-old Roozbeh Khademi, who was shot dead in Karaj Alborz Province. The young man has posted this on Instagram before he died: "I will sacrifice my life for the freedom of the women of my country".
Hajar Abbasi, an elderly woman, died after she was transported to hospital after she was shot in the eye in Iran's north-western Mahabad (Kurdistan) in West Azerbaijan Province on September 20. A grandmother, Hajar was a mother of seven. Videos of a wounded Hajar circulated online before the government's internet shutdown.
Minoo Majidi, a mother of three in her forties, was killed during a demonstration in Qasr-e Shirin in Kermanshah Province on September 20. A video of Minoo on the ground following the incident also circulated online. Hundreds attended Minoo's funeral on September 22 in a determined display of people power.
Roshana Ahmadi was only 19 when she died after being beaten by security forces with a metal rod on September 21. She would have celebrated her 20th birthday next week.
Kian Derakhshan, who was shot by police during a protest in Saqqez, in Kurdistan Province, was taken to Tabriz medical centre in a critical condition on September 17. The young man died of his injuries this week.
In the same city of Saqqez, 23-year-old Parsa Sehat was shot in the eyes and lungs. He was also transferred to Tabriz in a critical condition.
Iran's sweeping internet blackouts
While photos of videos of the violence, and its victims, rapidly circulated on social media, the regime began clamping down on messaging app and social platforms on September 19.
In addition, mobile networks including Iran's largest providers Irancell, MCI and RighTel, have encountered continuing blackouts. Mobile users reported having been offline for over 12 hours straight, while messages including keywords Mahsa/Amini have been blocked.
On September 2021, users noted the clampdown extended to What's App and Instagram - which state-backed TV said was "for national security reasons".
Platforms such as Twitter and Facebook have been blocked for years.
An Instagram user who said they were "alive, so far" explained they had managed to connect to the social platform after "the internet just came on with a VPN a while ago" on Saturday.
They took the opportunity to describe what they have experienced during the protests - including where they live in Central Tehran.
"The entire country's on fire. Tehran and other cities are a war zone. Central Tehran is a war zone."
"I literally dodged several real life bullets today and thank god I'm alive. I was being chased with bullets firing behind me, and I was blinded with tear gas and got very lucky that an elderly couple pulled me into their hone [sic] as I was blindly trying to stay on my feet among the smoke or else god knows where I would have been now."
The user highlighted how they feared being stopped or searched by the security forces in case they found their phone and tried to access their messages.
"I didn't take my phone for obvious security reasons in case I get caught. I'm gonna delete this message string after I finish sending my msgs [sic] for safety reasons in case they catch me with my phone (...) and plz [sic] don't respond to my DM."
Amid the chaos, Supreme Leader Khamenei has been silent since the start of the wave of protests. In a speech to military commanders on September 21, the Ayatollah did not mention the protests - which could pose a serious test to his power.
Echoes of 2019
The latest curfew-stule internet shutdown echoes the regime's impervious crackdown against protesters during the 2019 fuel price protests, which left some 1,500 people dead, according to .
Known as the Bloody November, the 2019 protests were quashed by the government's unbridled force.
What started as civil protests following the overnight rise in fuel prices equating almost 300 per cent accompanied by a newly-imposed ration system, quickly became political unrest.
Within less than a week, the unrest spread to 100 cities, prompting the regime to violently crackdown on demonstrators.
The regime imposed a five-day internet blackout, to ensure no images or videos would circulate online.
Security forces used anything from tear gas to live ammunition to break down the protests.
Reports said at least a dozen children were killed during the brutal crackdown, although the exact number of victims has not yet been verified.
With thousands killed, thousands injured and at least 7,000, the 2019 protests were the most violent and bloodiest anti-government unrest since the start of the Iranian Revolution in 1978.
1979, an Islamic Revolution
On September 8, 1978, a day remembered as "Black Friday", the government imposed martial law and security forces opened fire on protestors in the capital Tehran's Jaleh Square, killing over 100.
Over the next two months, the political unrest spilled into more than three dozen cities across the country before Khomeini took control of the government, imposing a new regime on Iranians.
Fruit of the 1979 Islamic Resolution - which saw the fall of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi - the current Islamic Republic was established on April 1, 1979.
It is estimated anywhere between 2,000 and 3,000 people were killed during the Islamic Revolution, in which millions participated.
Students take to the streets
Flashforward thirty years, students took to the streets over press freedom. What started as peaceful demonstrations over the closure of a reformist newspaper called Salaam - supported by then-President Mohammad Khatami - quickly turned bloody when security forces attacked the students.
Students were beaten with clubs. At least died and up to 1,400 were detained.
Ten years later, in 2009, millions of Iranians took to the streets to denounce what they believed to be election fraud following Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's landslide victory during the presidential elections.
The Green Movement was defined by a now-famous chant: "Where is my vote?", as demonstrators demanded democracy and an end to corruption in Iran.
Tens of thousands of Iranians took to the streets every week, before the regime's forces (including riot police and Basij paramilitary forces) fiercely squashed the protests.
At least 100 were killed and thousands were detained.
Crackdown on economic grievances
In December 2017, protestors in Iran's second largest city, Mashhad, rallied to voice its economic grievances over the regime's policies, including high cost of living, and the government's direct or covert involvement across the Middle-East.
The demonstrators criticised the regime's role in fuelling regional instability - notably in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.
Within weeks, leaderless protests - organised and managed largely through social media - were reported in over 140 cities across the country.
Chants included “Khamenei, shame on you, leave the country alone!" and, the now famous, "death to the dictator.”
Reports estimated at least 22 people were killed, and over 3,700 arrested and detained during the 2017-2018 protests that slowly dwindled down.
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In in this context that the 2019 price hike protests - the deadliest since 1979 - started brewing.
