The anger in Iran has been simmering for a long time.

The young woman's death made him explode

The protests following the death of a Kurdish woman who was arrested by the morality police for wearing an inappropriate head covering are the most widespread since 2019. Although they too are expected to be crushed by the regime, the incessant protests are gradually eroding its grip on the ground.

Kurdish activist exiled to Walla!: "They kill protesters on purpose"

Guy Ulster

09/23/2022

Friday, September 23, 2022, 12:23 p.m

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The social unrest in Iran has been simmering for many years.

The economic sanctions of the United States and the ongoing political repression are fueling the frustration and despair among large sections of the public, and these need one spark to explode.

This is what happened last week, when the death of a young Kurdish woman who was arrested by the religious police for inappropriate clothing ignited the streets, in the biggest protest Iran has known since 2019.

Mehsa Amini, 22 years old from the Kurdish region in northwestern Iran, was arrested last week in Tehran and went into a coma during the arrest.

Hence the differences in the versions: her family and human rights organizations claim that she suffered a skull fracture after being beaten in detention, however the regime denies and claims that she suffered from an illness that caused her to go into a coma until she died.

When public trust in institutions is so low, many did not believe the narrative of the authorities and their promise to get to the root of the matter.

Even reports of the suspension of the head of the religious police from Matilah Mura did not lower the level of anger, and the demonstrations spread from the Kurdish districts to the capital Tehran and dozens of other cities in the Islamic Republic.

Along with the familiar chant from past protests, "Death to the dictator", who actually returned to appear in public after, according to reports, he fell seriously ill, the demonstrators attacked security forces, police stations and ambulances.

The regime forces responded in some of the centers with live fire, and the death toll on both sides increased.

Many women participate in protests.

A protester in Tehran burns a hijab, this week (photo: screenshot, Twitter)

The violent clashes, which are reminiscent of those that rocked the country in the fuel protest three years ago, are presented by the regime as the work of "foreign agents", "terrorists", "gangs" and other terms used to describe the opposition.

The partial blocking of access to social networks indicates the regime's desire to crush the protests while they are still in motion, and the recent past proves that it will not hesitate to use a lot of force.

The 2019 fuel protest ended in a bloodbath of hundreds to thousands of people and the fate of the current hijab protest may be similar.

The Revolutionary Guards have already sent threats to the protesters and demanded that the judicial system take a heavy hand against them, and President Ibrahim Raisi conditioned an interview with veteran presenter Christiane Amanpour on the condition that she cover her head.

She refused, and the interview was cancelled.

Raisi, who was in New York on the occasion of the UN General Assembly, showed in his speech what his priorities were, when he focused on the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani by the United States and demanded that President Donald Trump be prosecuted. This is the same Soleimani whose posters are being torn down by protesters throughout Iran.

On video: Demonstrations in Iran protesting the death of the young woman Amini (documentation on Twitter)

The main weakness of the repeated demonstrations in Iran is the lack of central leadership, which will have difficulty growing in the deliberate climate of fear created by the authorities.

In addition, the regime is equipped with more sophisticated means of surveillance than before, with the help of which it is able to identify local protest leaders and arrest them quickly.

At this point, the protests did not grow to a critical mass like after the 2009 presidential election, but even then, they were crushed by regime supporters well trained in suppressing their opponents.

"There are demonstrations in almost all the cities," she told Walla!

Expatriate Kurdish-Iranian activist, member of the human rights organization "Hangao".

"They are deliberately killing demonstrators. Dozens of people have been arrested."

According to her, the current demonstrations are another opportunity to bring about change in Iran, after the last protests were unsuccessful.

"We know that 95% of Iranians do not want the regime. Many people were killed all the times, and they did not have the support of the United States and Europe. In addition, there was no united opposition to lead and support the people. We have to see what will happen, things change every moment ".

In addition to the Kurds, who, like their brothers in the rest of the neighboring countries, suffer from decades of discrimination and oppression, among the leaders of the current demonstrations are many women.

They were recorded cutting their hair, removing their veils and in some cases even burning them in front of the enraged crowd.

Another pillar in the protests are university students in the capital, Tehran, which is critical to any protest's success.

These are middle-class strata, who did not participate in the fuel protests in 2019, which were mainly characterized by low-class protesters.

The protests suffer from a lack of central leadership.

Demonstrators in Tehran, this week (Photo: GettyImages)

Although there is an extremely high probability that the regime will overcome the protesters this time as well, the chain of protests of the last few years is gradually refining its grip.

Returning to the nuclear agreement with the superpowers will indeed lead to the removal of sanctions and economic opportunities that will make things easier for the citizens, but Khamenei has so far shown no willingness to make further compromises.

Iran's demand to close past investigations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and to receive a guarantee that a future president will not withdraw from the deal again - a guarantee that the Biden administration cannot give - is stalling the nuclear talks. And with the midterm elections in the United States approaching, it may be further reduced in the coming months The path back to the deal Democrats may lose their majority in Congress, and Republicans say they will do anything to prevent a return to the deal that President Donald Trump withdrew from.

Khamenei's son has been mentioned as a possible successor.

A demonstration against Iran's leaders outside the UN headquarters in New York, this week (Photo: Reuters)

A turning point for the regime may occur the day after Khamenei.

For almost a decade now you have heard reports about the weak health of the Supreme Leader, and his disappearance for about two weeks rekindled rumors of his death.

It was reported in the New York Times that he was hospitalized in serious condition and recovered, and in recent days he has already been seen in public.

However, the 83-year-old Khamenei is not getting any younger and has no clear successor.

Raisi's crisis-filled first year as president did not add any merit points to him in the future battle for the position of supreme leader.

Khamenei's eldest son, Mujtaba, is also mentioned as a candidate to replace his father one day, but the scenario of creating a dynasty in the Islamic Republic - which overthrew the shah's dynastic rule - causes discomfort to the regime's supporters as well.

The demonstrators also did not hide their feelings towards the possibility of a Khamenei dynasty.

"Mujataba, may you die and not be the supreme leader", shouted protesters in Tehran this week, which is not expected to be quiet and peaceful in the near future, even if the current wave of protests knows you until the next time.

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