Iran

The head of Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards warned protesters that Saturday would be their last day of taking to the streets, in the clearest sign that security forces may intensify their fierce crackdown on nationwide unrest.

Iran has been gripped by protests since the death of 22-year-old Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police last month, posing one of the boldest challenges to the clerical leadership since the 1979 revolution.

Iranian people's courage & readiness for sacrifice is the key point for victory against the brutal mullahs' regime #IranRevolution2022 #Iran #مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چه_شاه_باشه_رهبر pic.twitter.com/Uqbk6N6jnZ

— javid Irani (@javidirani30) October 29, 2022

“We are not leaving Iran; we are taking Iran back,” chant students at Amirkabir University (Polytechnic) in Tehran today. They also chant: "This is the last message: the goal is the entire system.”#MahsaAmini #مهسا_امینی #IranRevoIution2022 pic.twitter.com/tdZZhue9qY

— Omid Memarian (@Omid_M) October 29, 2022

Protests have raged through the night in Iran after thousands of mourners marked 40 days since the death of Mahsa Amini, which sparked a wave of unrest across the Islamic republic.

Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian of Kurdish origin, died on 16 September, three days after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police for allegedly breaching the Islamic dress code for women.

Anger flared at her funeral last month and quickly sparked protests led by young women who have burned their headscarves and confronted security forces, in the biggest wave of unrest in Iran for years.

The moment Iranian protesters stormed the governor's office in the city of Mahabad in the country's northwest. pic.twitter.com/ubupmtxEUq

— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) October 27, 2022

At least 15 are dead in Iran following a sectarian attack by gunmen at a Shiite holy site on Wednesday.

Add yet another wrinkle to the country’s anti-regime actions that have been going on for weeks around the Mullah’s religious dictatorship.

Iranian state TV claimed that three Sunni Muslim extremists known as “takfiris” descended on the Shah Cheragh mosque in the southern city of Shiraz, shooting and killing at least 15 people, presumably worshippers.

A Persian proverb says: “The stew was so over-salty that even the Khan frowned.” This means that a situation has become so bad that even the “chief”, a prisoner in a cobweb created by a flattering entourage, realizes how bad things have become.

The proverb came to mind the other day when former US President Barack Obama admitted that he had been wrong in trying to prop up the Khomeinist clique by refusing to even verbally support the 2009 Iranian uprising.

At the time, some of us argued that Obama was wrong and that his policy of “bringing the Islamic Republic into the fold” would never work.

The Iranian climber who received a hero’s welcome on her return to Tehran after competing in South Korea without wearing a headscarf has reportedly been placed under house arrest.

Elnaz Rekabi competed last weekend in South Korea without wearing a headscarf, which is mandatory in Iran and a subject of nationwide protests after the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the country’s notorious morality police.

The moment of her death was captured by her own mobile. #GhazalehChelabi 32 Yr old woman was shouting “don’t be scared, we are all together” & recording the protest over the murder of #MahsaAmini when she was shot by the security forces on Amol city in Iran.
She was a climber. pic.twitter.com/aeVpvIuqNH

— Masih Alinejad 🏳️ (@AlinejadMasih) October 21, 2022

Another schoolgirl has reportedly been killed by the Iranian security services after she was beaten in her classroom for refusing to sing a pro-regime song when her school was raided last week, sparking further protests across the country this weekend.

According to the Coordinating Council of Iranian Teachers’ Trade Associations, 16-year-old Asra Panahi died after security forces raided the Shahed girls high school in Ardabil on 13 October and demanded a group of girls sing an anthem that praises Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

#BREAKING
Oct 18—Ahvaz, SW #Iran
Protesters are in the streets chanting "Death to the dictator!" specifically targeting regime dictator Ali Khamenei on this 33rd night of the nationwide uprising.#IranRevolution pic.twitter.com/LNk9Zd2Y2g

— Heshmat Alavi (@HeshmatAlavi) October 18, 2022

A female Iranian climber who competed with her hair uncovered did so because her hijab fell off “inadvertently”, a post on her Instagram account says.

Elnaz Rekabi, 33, was praised by those protesting against Iran’s dress code after video showed her violating it at the Asian Championships in South Korea.

BBC Persian reported on Monday that friends had been unable to contact her.