Anti-government protests have been roiling in Iran since the funeral of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini on September 17. Amini was arrested on September 13 for “unsuitable attire” by the morality police who enforce Iran’s strict Islamic dress code. She then died in the hospital three days later, with signs that she had been beaten. The government claims Amini died of a heart attack. That isn’t going over well, particularly because women with her say she was beaten.
But the protests aren’t sitting well with the repressive government.
One of the videos showed security forces firing teargas to drive the students off the campus and the sound of what appeared to be shooting at a distance could be heard.
Another video showed security forces chasing dozens of students trapped in the university’s underground parking. The account said dozens of students had been arrested.
Some are now even calling for the mullahs to be thrown out.
This is real bravery. But our government has been largely silent about this while still seeking to pursue a horrible deal with the mullahs that would likely feed a ton of money into their pockets. That encourages the government to oppress their people and puts a roadblock in their fight for freedom, in addition to being a very bad deal for us and funding Iran’s terrorism.
Reza Pahlavi — the son of the former Shah of Iran who is an advocate for a secular, democratic state — blasted the Iranian government’s action but he also spoke directly to Joe Biden.
“The Islamic Republic is firing on students at #Iran’s #Sharif_University,” Pahlavi said. “Yet, reports indicate the US may send this criminal regime billions yet again.” He powerfully chastised Joe Biden for that, “You have yet to help our people. At least don’t fund the bullets piercing the hearts of our youth!”
How serious are the protests? You know they are very serious because they finally forced Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to comment and try to justify the security force’s actions.
According to Iran Human Rights, 133 people have so far been killed in response. The government isn’t commenting on that number but instead is trying to attack the protesters claiming they’ve killed members of the security forces, characterizing the protesters as “rioters and thugs backed by foreign foes”. Hundreds have been injured and thousands are arrested.