Protests have been raging across Iran following the death in police custody last month of Mahsa Amini, 22, who was arrested for allegedly failing to wear her hijab properly by the country’s feared morality enforcement squad.
Authorities in the Islamic Republic have moved to shut down demonstrations, including shuttering its prestigious Sharif University of Technology in Tehran after a standoff between student protestors and disrupting social media access in various locations.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei broke three weeks of silence on Monday to condemn protestors and blamed the United States and Israel for instigating the unrest, warning that “those who foment unrest to sabotage the Islamic Republic deserve harsh prosecution and punishment.”
At least 92 people are believed to have been killed by authorities with thousands more arrested since September 16 in what marks the biggest demonstrations against the Iranian regime since the 2019 fuel riots.
The brutal crackdown has been criticized by US President Joe Biden, who promised America would do more to help protestors. “The United States is making it easier for Iranians to access the Internet, including through facilitating greater access to secure, outside platforms and services,” he said, adding: “[We are] also holding accountable Iranian officials and entities, such as the Morality Police, that are responsible for employing violence to suppress civil society.”
As the Iranian authorities continue deploying increasingly violent crowd dispersal methods and the protests show no sign of calming, many are wondering whether this could be the beginning of the end for the regime.
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