Prison Riot In Northern Iran In Kills Several Inmates

The day started with a few protest gathering in universities, as news emerged that hundreds of oil workers in Asalouyeh, on the Persian Gulf coast went on a strike and blocked roads near processing plants. Reports later on Monday indicated that a few plants were shut down by managers, but workers' groups vowed to continue protests in the surrounding area.

In the evening Tehran time social media accounts began reporting protests in the capital, several cities in western Iran and in the south. Below we provide news and videos about these demonstrations.

But what constitutes perhaps a more important developments was a statement by a group of activists known as ‘Tehran Youth’ for nationwide protests on Wednesday. This was the group that had called for the large protests on Saturday, October 8, that brought out crowds in various parts of Tehran and several other cities, showing the power of the “revolutionaries”, as many nowadays call themselves.

Tehran Youth issued a statement calling for Wednesday’s protest in response to security forces opening fire with military weapons against protesters in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj Sunday night, killing several people, although a reliable number does not exist. Some sources say four people were shot dead.

The Kurdish human rights group Hengaw reported Monday that security forces committed many "crimes against the people of Sanandaj," but due to a total internet blackout, no images are available yet. The group said that they have received many voice messages about these incidents.

Our live coverage ended at 01:00 Tehran time on Tuesday.

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Amnesty International in this Persian tweet warns about the situation in Sanandaj, saying security forces have been using guns against protesters and firing tear gas into people's homes.

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Protests took place Monday night in Nezam Abad district of Tehran. One tweet around 23:30 local time said that people used incendiary devices against security forces but the government has slowed down Internet connection and it is hard to send images.

Another tweet from Tehran said that gunfire was being heard from Nezam Abad, around the same time. Two explosion were also heard in the area, presumed to be some kind of homemade device thrown at Basij forces.

One video showed a government agent who fell into the hands of the protesters.

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A group of protesters marching in the Ekbatan district of Tehran, chanting "Death to the dictator".

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Protesters in Marvdasht in southern Fars Province are trying to set fire to a banner bearing the image of IRGC general Qasem Soleimani who was killed by a targeted American air strike in Iraq in January 2020.

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Protesters have lit fires and blocked roads in the western city of Kermanshah. The tweet says they have control of the streets.

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People chanting "Death to the dictator" from their windows and balconies in a district of Tehran.

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Protests in the western Kurdish city of Sanandaj on Monday after security forces fired military weapons at protesters the day before and killed several people. These protests continued Monday evening.

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Another video showing security forces again firing at protesters in Sanandaj Monday evening.

Another video from Sanandaj in which gun shots are heard.

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Protesters shout "Death to the dictator in Saqqez, a pre-dominantly Kurdish city and the hometown of Mahsa Amini, the young woman who died in the custody of hijab police and her death triggered the current protests.

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Drivers honking in the northwestern city of Tabriz and blocking and blocking streets, a protest tactic.

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Drivers and pedestrians protesting in the southern city of Shiraz Monday evening, chanting "Death to the dictator."

Protesters in Kazerun, southern n Iran appear to be running away from security forces Monday evening.

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Protest in the western city of Hamedan Monday evening. Demonstrators are chanting, "Death to the dictator."

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A large protest by students in Amir Kabir University in Tehran on Monday.

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"These sanctions send a clear message to the Iranian authorities – we will hold you to account for your repression of women and girls and for the shocking violence you have inflicted on your own people," Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement on Monday. 

He noted that the sanctions are imposed on morality police in its entirety, as well as both its chief, Mohammed Rostami Cheshmeh-Gachi, and the head of the Tehran Division, Ahmad Mirzaei. 

The new measures mean that the designated individuals cannot travel to Britain and any of their assets held in Britain will be frozen.

The death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in hijab police custody has sparked protests against the theocratic regime across Iran and internationally, with Iranian demonstrators calling for the downfall of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Republic. 

Last week, the British foreign ministry said it had summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires, Tehran’s most senior diplomat in Britain, over the crackdown on the protests. As fierce antigovernment demonstrations have entered their fourth week and close to 200 protesters are reported to have been killed by security forces, European countries, the United States and Canada have issued statements and some sanctions against those Iranian officials who have been identified as responsible for using repressive measures.

Ali Saeedi Shahroudi, the head of the Political and Ideological Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and former representative of the Supreme Leader in the Revolutionary Guards, said on Monday that Iran should establish an organization to oversee the behavior of musicians, actors and sports stars similar to government-controlled outfits regulating professional groups. 

The members of the country’s Engineering Organization or the Medical Council of the Islamic Republic cannot do whatever they want in fear of the consequences, he said, calling for establishing such a system for celebrities. Artists “committed to the Islamic Republic” should get to work and create such associations, Shahroudi said. 

Since the beginning of the current wave of protests across Iran, sparked by the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in custody of hijab police, the Islamic Republic has confiscated passports of numerous celebrities and also detained several others over their support for the uprising. 

Protests over the death of Mahsa Amini have gained more public support and demonstrations against the ruling theocratic regime and calls for a secular, democratic government have intensified. The unrest has been amplified by social media and, in some cases, celebrities with large online followings, such as footballers Ali Karimi and Ali Daei or singers such as Shervin Hajipour – whose song has become a manifesto for anti-regime demonstrators.

Social media reports say workers and staff of Phase 2 of state-owned Abadan Refinery walked out hours after reports of the strike at Asalouyeh Complex in Bushehr Province emerged. The government has disrupted access to mobile Internet in Khuzestan in the past few days but a video has emerged showing workers walking out Monday.

In other videos posted on social media contract workers at Asalouyeh are seen chanting “This year is the year of blood, Seyed Ali Khamenei is done! and “Down with the Dictator” in front of an administrative building. The narrator of the video says it is the beginning of the workday, 6:00 AM Monday, and that the workers have begun their “strike-campaign”.

The narrator of another video which shows smoke rising in the distance and workers gathering, says they have blocked the road to Asalouyeh Complex and gone on strike.In other videos workers are seen blocking the road with stones and rubble on a motorway where barrels of tar have been set on fire by workers.

Officials have accused protesters many of whom hail from other provinces and belong to various ethnic groups, of sabotage. “Long live Iran! Long live Lurs, Turks, Kurds, Arabs and Bakhtiari’s!” a worker says in one of the videos taken on the blocked road and stresses that workers are on strike in solidarity with the people of Iran.

Workers at Bushehr Petrochemical Company’s Site One at Asalouyeh Complex chanting “Don’t be afraid: We stand together!”.

Some social media reports claim workers of other companies in Asalouyeh have also joined the strike including Damavand Petrochemical Company and Kangan Petro Refining Company.

A statement by Council for Organizing Oil Contract-Workers’ Protests circulating on social media Monday said contract workers at Bushehr Petrochemical Company (Site One) and Hengam Petrochemical Company both of which operate at Asalouyeh Complex in Bushehr have begun their protests in solidarity with other protesters.

The statement urged all oil, gas, and petrochemical workers of every employment status (temporary, contract-based, permanent) as well as workers on oil rigs to start protesting and prepare for nation-wide strikes. “This is only the beginning of our path, and we will continue our protests every day in solidarity and in tandem with the people from all over the country.”

In some of the videos posted from Asalouyeh, however, workers clearly state that they are on strike.The council had warned last week that workers would not remain indifferent to the killing of protesters and would go on strike if it continued.

There are also reports that drivers of bitumen tankers employed by a private company have gone on strike and refused taking any loads for a fourth consecutive day from privately-owned Pasargad Oil Company serving Abadan Refinery.

In the capital Tehran, university students rallied to continue antigovernment protests. Images received show large demonstrations in Polytechnic and Amir Kabir universities.

As the Islamic Republic’s authorities are cracking down on people who are protesting against the government, they are also threatening or arresting celebrities who have voiced support for the protests.

Mojtaba Pourbakhsh, a presenter in a popular football show, was banned from the state TV because he expressed support for football star Ali Karimi, who has been very critical of the regime’s heavy-handed clampdown since the beginning of the current wave of the protests, triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in hijab police custody. 

Many celebrities have been summoned for questioning, or their passports have been confiscated, because of their social media posts demanding freedoms or calling on security forces to stop violence. 

Amid the ongoing crisis in Iran ‘reformist’ commentator Abbas Abdi said in an interview on Sunday that what Iran's state-run television broadcasts are “sheer propaganda." Those who are looking for news in Iran will not turn to the state TV, Abdi argued.

Ironically, when hackers interrupted the state TV news program October 8, playing a short clip, most Iranians found out about it through social media reports or on foreign-based satellite TV rather than watching the actual program on the state TV.

Meanwhile, former Vice President Mostafa Hashemi Taba has argued in another interview that the state TV, also known as the Islamic Republic of Iran's Broadcasting organization (IRIB) excels in keeping Iranians uninformed about developments.