There have been some reports of gunfire and explosions from Tehran as the Supreme leader of the Islamic regime in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has warned that there will be a crackdown on protests which have swept the nation over recent days.
In a televised address Khamenei warned that the regime “will not back down in the face of vandals” and accused protestors of damaging their own property “just to please the president of the United States”.
At least 45 protesters, including eight children, are reported to have been killed been killed since the latest unrest started, with the the Islamic Regime cutting off internet access and telephone lines in Tehran as well as other cities.
The current protests are the biggest since the large-scale demonstrations were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in the custody of the religious police in 2022.
Gatherings of thousands are taking place in dozens of cities with local journalists reporting that many of those participating are using chants such as “Long live the Shah” to call for the end of, often violent, Islamic rule in the country of approximately 91,000,000.
As the protests approach their third week, The head of Iran’s Sharia Law based judiciary, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, threatened that those demonstrating would face consequences that are “decisive, maximum and without any legal leniency”.
Prince Reza Pahlavi, whose late father was ousted as Shah by the Islamic revolution in 1979, said recent protest numbers were “unprecedented”.
Speaking of the latest days of protest he said, “As our brave compatriots take over the streets across Iran for the second consecutive night, I have a message for Iranians abroad on the important role they have to play in these fateful hours and days.”
On Tuesday he issued a video message to the people of Iran calling on them to “start chanting slogans” on the following nights’ protests.
“I am sharing my first call with you today and invite you to start chanting slogans this Thursday and Friday, 18th and 19th of Dey, simultaneously at 8 PM, all of you whether in the streets or even from your own homes. Based on the feedback from this action, I will announce the next calls to you.” he said.
The protests, which were sparked by the sudden downturn of the nation’s currency but soon turned into renewed calls for the removal of the Islamic regime, are the biggest of their kind since 2022 when the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini by so-called Islamic modesty police triggered a massive public outcry.
More recently in October last year, the regime came under international scrutiny after it sentenced a 67-year-old woman, Zahra Shahbaz Tabari, to death for alleged armed rebellion against the Islamic State based on two pieces of evidence, namely a piece of cloth bearing the slogan ‘Woman, Resistance, Freedom’—a popular slogan from the 2022 protests—and an unpublished audio message. Authorities alleged she planned to install the cloth as a public banner to challenge the State, according to the UN Human Rights Commissioner.
The UN said “Ms. Tabari’s case shows a pattern of serious violations of international human rights law regarding fair trial guarantees and the inappropriate use of capital punishment for broad and ill-defined national security offences,”.
The fresh protests have seen huge numbers of women remove Islamic head scarves in defiance of the regime.
Yesterday a government military building was reportedly set on fire in Tehran as large crowds cheered as the flames rose.
US President Donal Trump has warned the regime that Iran would “get hit very hard” if it repeats the mass killings seen during previous uprisings.