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Iran update: Thousands march to the tomb of Mahsa Amini as protests roil the streets of Tehran [1]

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Date: 2022-10-26

A woman without a hijab stands on a car and faces the crowd coming to remember Mahsa Amini. 25 October 2022.

On Tuesday, thousands of Iranians defied government orders and traveled to Saqqez in the western Kurdistan province to pay tribute to 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on the 40th day after her murder at the hands of Iran’s “morality police.” Forty days represents the end of the formal Islamic mourning period following a death, but this certainly doesn’t represent the end of the protest movement in Iran. What at first was dismissed by officials inside Iran, and by analysts outside that nation, as a small regional affair that was no threat to the regime of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has grown into the greatest threat to the rule of the mullahs since the 1979 revolution.

x A massive crowd of protesters marches towards Mahsa Amini's grave today in her hometown of Saqez, Kurdistan province, to mark 40 days since her death, a landmark in Iranian culture.#مهسا_امینی #MahsaAminipic.twitter.com/YhY44KJ7i5 — Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) October 26, 2022

Those crowds didn’t just come by car or by walking along the roads. Where they met blockades by security police, Iranians left the highway and walked over fields and hills to join with other protestors in remembering Amini.

x Mind blowing. Despite the massive security measures against protests thousands of people are flocking to the graveside of the Kurdish woman, Jina Amini to mark the end of 40 days mourning. Travelling over fields to avoid security blockades.

HAPPENING NOW. #TwitterKurds #Rojhilat pic.twitter.com/obOyabgQWP — @Hevallo (@Hevallo) October 26, 2022

The protests that began following Amini’s death have now resulted in over 200 additional people being killed by Iran’s security services and over 10,000 people being arrested. Protests marches have taken place in over 150 cities and towns. More fighting was reported in both Tehran and Saqqez on Wednesday.

In the wake of recent protests at colleges and high schools, the regime announced on Sunday that it was going to post guards at all schools to enforce rules. After that announcement, paramilitary forces in support of the regime tried to take over the cafeteria at Sharif University in Tehran and force male and female students apart. But rather than giving in, the students fought back. The students broke through barricades erected by the pro-regime forces, took control of the campus, and the whole event served to feed the spreading protest against the current government.

Trying to end the protests going on at campuses across Iran is not exactly going smoothly.

x Female university students in Isfahan cry “freedom, freedom, freedom!” (Azadi). What’s happening in Iran is the inexorable march of history. It can be delayed with repression, but not reversed. pic.twitter.com/nf3DXPdWfl — Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) October 25, 2022

On Tuesday night, large crowds swarmed through areas of Tehran, sending police and guards fleeing. On Wednesday morning, security forces have still not regained control over sections of the city.

x Central Tehran right now. Some of the streets are in people’s control. #IranRevolution2022 #مهسا_امینی pic.twitter.com/F0ZGeBUiMQ — Relentless Fella 🇺🇦 ✙ (@khars69) October 26, 2022

Those protests have included demonstrations of incredible bravery among the women of Iran, from individuals walking down the street without a hijab in defiance of the fate that took Amini, to school girls squaring off directly against members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards. Horrible scenes of Iranian security forces firing assault rifles into crowds haven’t stopped unarmed people from continuing to protest at every level. They don’t even seem to have diminished the incredible hope that many are feeling.

x I never thought I’d see these days.



Women in Tehran and in other cities in Iran are increasingly walking without compulsory hijab.



They’re taking a risk, but freedom isn’t free. Many in Iranian society are ready to die for their freedom.#MahsaAmini



pic.twitter.com/bigrK9gCoU — Vahid 🇺🇦 (@vahid_y1) October 25, 2022

This is far more than an effort to remove a law requiring women to wear a mandatory head covering. It’s a direct challenge to the regime of the mullahs. Across Iran both women and men believe that the nation is on the cusp of change.

Survivors of past protest movements and victims of decades of repression by the regime are joining in the fight. Everywhere, the willingness to be seen speaking out against Khamenei and other Iraniain leaders appears to be growing.

x "My beautiful girls, I am really proud of you."



After "80 years," an Iranian woman removed her hijab in solidarity with the youth of Iran protesting for their rights in the streets. pic.twitter.com/iKnvqmy5Mp — DW News (@dwnews) October 21, 2022

The protests are also having the effect of brining the disparate elements of the Iranian opposition together. From socialists to those seeking the return of the Iranian monarchy, both inside Iran and among the millions who have left in the post-1979 diaspora, there is a growing hope of forging something that looks like a unified response capable of unseating the current regime.

The shape of what comes next isn’t clear. However, there seems to be a recognition that, even as they are fighting to overthrow this regime, everyone wants a voice in what could follow. Because they are all too aware of what happened last time there was a revolution, and just one group was prepared to exploit the power vacuum.

x Say it with me… it’s a REVOLUTION. The first female-led revolution of our time. And it will go down in history for its impact across the region and world. So, pick a side: the Islamic Republic regime or the Iranian people? There’s no middle ground.#MahsaAmini https://t.co/6RFuvHpG6m — Nazanin Boniadi (@NazaninBoniadi) October 25, 2022

Iranian state-run media are reporting that gun men have opened fire at the Shah Cheragh shrine. According to the Associated Press, at least 15 people are reported dead and dozens more are wounded. The Iranian government is blaming the attack on Sunni extremists.

What relationship, if any, this has to the protests now going on in Iran is unclear.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/26/2131380/-Iran-update-Thousands-march-to-the-tomb-of-Mahsa-Amini-as-protests-roil-the-streets-of-Tehran

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