There were many reasons for the protests in Iran yesterday. Seeing Pejman Gholipour’s mother, hearing her voice; It was as if the vocal cords in her throat were scratching the dried blood and the letters were shouting in her chest through anger and hatred, when Mahboubeh said at the foot of the stripe Freedom Tower: “Enough is enough! Enough slavery!” Azadi (Freedom Tower) wanted to cry from behind the turquoise corrugated bars whose white marble body has been tied to the call to prayer and turban in the middle of Tehran for 42 years.
Yesterday, Friday, July 30, on the 16th day of the nationwide protests, a group of mothers of November 2019 victims, gathered in Tehran’s Azadi Square in support of people of Khuzestan protests. But because of the regime fears of any gathering, it sent its goons. They attacked the mothers. Like bandits, they ambushed them and detained them for hours.
The grieving mothers seeking justice for their lost loved ones did not call for the gathering or want anyone to risk their lives for them. Aunt of Sajjad Rezaei, one of the victims of November 2019, who was present at the protest rally with his mother yesterday, describes the details of the incident:
No one in Iran is looking for a reason anymore to protest; Everyone is just looking for a good opportunity to protest, directly and sharply against the elements of the regime, to the principle of Velayat-e-Faqih (Supreme Leader), to the Islamic Republic and to Khamenei. The regime has also understood this.
The anti-regime protests that took place last night during the championship celebration of Persepolis soccer team in different parts of the country, once again clearly showed that the regime these days is afraid of any gathering, on any occasion: The people also showed that it does not matter if they are fans of Esteghlal or Persepolis (two main soccer clubs in Iran), whether they are from Khuzestan, Azerbaijan or Tehran, whoever they are or wherever, they would express their disgust at the regime in the most intense form, anywhere, any time, with any excuse and at any opportunity. Today’s protests are fundamental. They have targeted the roots. The system must change; This is well understood by the people after 4 decades of Islamic tyranny and corruption.
According to the videos shared from last night’s protests, the repressive forces of the Islamic Republic in the cities of Mashhad, Qom, Arak, Babol blocked the road and violently prevented people from gathering. The images show motorcyclists attacking crowds with shocks and tear gas. Despite the heavy presence of the regime’s oppression machine in the cities, creating an atmosphere of intimidation and extremely brutal behavior of armed agents, people in many parts of Tehran province, including Nasimshahr, Golestan, Baharestan, Narmak, Tehranpars and Sadeghiyeh, managed to break the security atmosphere and chanted anti-regime slogans. Last night, people shouted in the streets of the cities: “All these years with so many crime, death to this Velayat (Supreme Leader)! Death to dictator! Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, I’ll die for Iran! Death to Khamenei! Reza Shah, God bless your soul! Cannon, tank, firecracker, the mullahs must get lost! Death on the principle of Velayat-e-Faqih! Shame on us, shame on us, with the lout and shameless leader!”
Also yesterday, at least six citizens were arrested in Ahvaz: four men and two women, according to HRANA, human rights activists news agency. In this report, the reason for the arrest of these 6 Ahvaz residents is the possession of placards in protest of the transfer of Khuzestan water during yesterday’s demonstration of the people of the city on Sahel boulevard of Ahvaz. However, these arrests and the violent treatment of the Khuzestani protesters by the agents did not prevent Majid Naserinejad, the representative of Shadegan in the parliament, from saying this morning about the current situation in Khuzestan: “A calm has prevailed in Khuzestan”! Of course, Naserinejad attributed this “calm” to Khamenei and the IRGC and the army entering to the Khuzestan issue, and concluded: “This shows that our people are satisfied and expectant and are satisfied with minimal attention.” The internet is still completely cut off or severely disrupted in most parts of Khuzestan. This is silence, not calm. The reason is clear: protests continue in Khuzestan. Oppression, arrest and killing as well.
Translation of this post by Sahar.