British Premonition: 1988-Style Carnage May Reoccur In Iran

Economy Minister Ehsan Khandouzi, who visited Budapest, said Thursday that Tehran is open to joint investment in pharmaceuticals as prices of Iranian products are “lower than foreign competitors.”

The visit and talk of economic cooperation come as Hungary is a member of Nato and EU while Iran is being harshly criticized by the European Union for using intense violence against protesters and supplying drones to Russia to attack Ukraine.

The minister’s claim comes as much of the raw materials needed for producing medicines in Iran is imported. The Islamic Republic is also dependent on imports for most of the drugs needed to treat life-threatening ailments such as cancer and coronary disease.

Most medicines in Iran are produced locally by quasi-governmental companies. When the Iranian currency began to nosedive in early 2018, the government offered a fixed exchange rate for essential goods, mainly food and medicines.

However, earlier this year, the new administration of President Ebrahim Raisi eliminated what was in fact a government subsidy. Now, food and medicine producers must buy dollars at rates seven times higher to import their raw materials, which has disrupted domestic production.

Reports from Iran say that people cannot even find painkillers, IV fluids, and antibiotics at pharmacies.

In a letter issued by a high-ranking army commander, he demanded daily reports on the arrest of army personnel and their families during protests, as well as paying attention to "subversive actions" against military facilities.

Hossein Safaralizadeh, commander of an army base in the southern city of Shiraz, has also mentioned that the army’s inspectorate has also warned other commanders in three provinces of Esfahan, Yazd and Charmahal-Bakhtiari to follow up on such cases on daily basis.

This letter may suggest that the number of army personnel who are showing sympathy toward the protest movement, or family members participating in protests is on the rise and top military officials are concerned about it.

“The presence of army personnel and their families in riots, their arrest by the security, writing anti-government slogans on the walls of the barracks, and the amount of possible damage to the barracks and army housing units must be reported daily… through text, phone, or reports,” reads the letter.

Iran’s traditional Army, as distinct from the Revolutionary Guard, is widely criticized for not acting against the brutality of Basij militiamen, IRGC forces, and police who are ruthlessly killing innocent people during the uprising.

Analysts believe that, in the past years, the Islamic Republic has provided key positions of the army to the members of the Revolutionary Guard to eliminate the possibility of forming an opposition within the army.

In the past three days, the grassroot nature of the protests manifested itself in small towns, where people were almost unstoppable and brought the security forces to their knees. 

Government forces have killed nearly 350 people since the protests began following the death in custody of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in mid-September, and each death has fueled more protests since holding mourning ceremonies and funeral services is culturally important for Iranians.

No day passes without some event in honor of one or more protesters in cities across Iran. In addition, hundreds of families also hold ceremonies for their loved ones who were killed three years ago during the November 2019 unrest when security forces began firing at people from the first day of protests, killing at least 1,500 citizens. Every one of these ceremonies is an opportunity for people to hold gatherings and express their resentment against the regime. Thursday was no exception as many funerals and mourning gatherings morphed into protest rallies. 

Another new low for the clerical regime is killing children, whose deaths enrage Iranians even more and their funerals and mourning ceremonies bring out larger crowds. According to human rights groups, over 40 children were already killed by government agents until this week when security forces killed several more. Some children take part in the protests but many simply happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, when riot police or government vigilantes open fire.

Mourning ceremonies for a 10-year-old boy in the city of Izeh, in Khuzestan province, was one of the main events of the Thursday protests in several cities, as social media exploded with depictions inspired by his death. 

In addition to pockets of protests in large cities, which have been scenes of protests and clashes during the past two months, more protesters turned out in towns with less than 50,000 population, blocking streets, chanting antigovernment slogans and setting fire to government buildings. 

Law enforcement forces in small cities normally tend not to respond violently to the protesters because people in such cities usually know each other’s families. Many of the people who are now members of Basij paramilitary forces are cracking down on people who used to be their classmates or neighbors while they were growing up. Therefore, the regime transfers forces from other cities, but the strategy is only partially useful because outside forces do not know the localities as well as its residents, so they are easily outsmarted by the protesters, making towns fall under the control of the people. 

On Thursday, some towns were scenes of clashes that earlier were not hotbeds of protests. Semirom and Khorasgan in Esfahan province, Paveh and Sarpol-e Zahab in Kermanshah, Khomein in Markazi Province, Eyvanki in Semnan, Khonj in Fars, Qorveh in Kordestan, Khoy in West Azarbaijan, Sarableh in Ilam, and Masal in Gilan were some of the small cities and towns whose residents held remarkable protest rallies on Thursday. 

The cities that have become well-known for the bravery of their citizens were also among the places of biggest demonstrations. People on social media say Sanandaj witnessed its largest rally in the past two months.

Reports say bazaars and markets of Tehran, Mashhad, Kermanshah, Shiraz, Arak, Qazvin, Kerman, and many other cities were closed on Thursday.

Workers in some large government-owned companies, such as steel and oil producers are also on strike.

Massive strikes come in response to calls published on the anniversary of the massacre of protesters in November 2019.

A series of nationwide protests in Iran, sometimes known as Bloody November, took place in 2019. Initially triggered by a 50 to 200-percent increase in fuel prices, the demonstrations quickly turned into calls for the overthrow of the government and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to a report by a rights group, at least 3,000 protesters were killed by the Islamic Republic security forces from November 15 to 17, and nearly 20,000 arrested. Reuters at the time reported 1,500 deaths.

Grassroot groups last week called for protests across the country for November 15, 16, and 17.

Videos from the western city of Bukan show that people held a protest rally in front of the municipality of the city on Thursday after the funeral of Mohammad Hassanzadeh and Salar Mojaver, who were killed by regime forces Wednesday. There have also been reports that people attacked the municipality building.

According to reports, security forces attacked people during the funeral ceremony firing live rounds and tear gas.

In Sanandaj, the capital of Kordestan province, the protesting people also gathered at a cemetery to mark the fortieth day after the death of some demonstrators chanting slogans such as “Death to the dictator”.

The motion was ratified by a recorded vote of 80 in favor to 28 against, with 68 abstentions on Wednesday [Nov. 16]. The committee, which deals with human rights, humanitarian affairs and social matters, meets every year in early October and aims to finish its work by the end of November. 

The United Nations General Assembly Third Committee -- also known as the Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee or C3 – also approved four other resolutions on Myanmar, Syria, North Korea, Crimea and one about the refugees and displaced persons in Africa. 

In the resolution on Iran, the committee urged the Islamic Republic to cease the use of excessive force against protesters, who have been holding daily rallies across the country since Mahsa Amini’s arbitrary arrest and subsequent death while in ‘morality’ police custody.

According to Canada’s representative, despite “deplorable actions by Iranian authorities against protesters, mass peaceful protests continue into their eighth week,” noting that the killing of Mahsa Amini is just one instance of human rights atrocities in Iran. He added that “violent implementation of the hijab and chastity laws undermine the human rights of women and girls.”

Calling for accountability, he expressed deep concern over the authorities’ use of force, as well as the increasing use of the death penalty. He pointed to the systemic prosecution of minorities, alarming restrictions on the Internet and mobile data, and the generalized use of arbitrary detentions and enforced disappearances.

The Australian representative also condemned the disproportionate use of force against protesters and called on the Islamic Republic to establish a moratorium on all executions and to cease its long-standing oppression of the LGBTI community and its discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities. “Sovereignty is not a shield” for human rights violations, she added.

The UK representative described the death of Mahsa Amini “a shocking reminder of the oppression faced by women in Iran,” condemning the enforcement of the hijab and chastity laws by the so-called morality police. He also voiced concern over the situation of 14,000 arrested protestors and the death sentences. Expressing support for the UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur’s work on Iran’s oppression of minority groups and media freedom, he said “the Iranian people have suffered enough.”

The US envoy highlighted the deteriorating human rights situation in Iran since last year and recalled listening to experts tell of egregious violations during a recent Security Council meeting. Detailing the torture of activists and protestors as well as recent death sentences, she said that Iran obscures its acts by limiting access to the Internet, intimidation and refusing access to the Special Rapporteur. She described the resolution as a message of support to the Iranian people and welcomed the specific language on the death of Mahsa Amini.

Rejecting the draft, the Islamic Republic’s delegate denounced the co-sponsors -- including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Israel and Germany. She claimed that women and girls in Iran are fully aware of their rights and how to interact with the government, adding that there is no need for Western countries to advocate for them. She made the remarks while around 350 Iranian protesters have been killed in the current wave of protests and about over 14,000 have been detained with the judiciary sentencing several of them to death in sham trials.

The UN Human Rights Council will also adopt a resolution aimed at holding the Islamic Republic accountable on November 24.