In Iran, students took to the streets in large-scale anti-government protests
Фото: REUTERS
In Iran, students at several universities held anti-government demonstrations, the first large-scale protests since the violent crackdown on demonstrations in January. In particular, demonstrations took place in Tehran and other cities in the country.
This is reported by the BBC .
Journalists released a video showing hundreds of protesters peacefully marching through the grounds of Sharif University of Technology in Tehran at the start of a new semester. Participants chanted “Death to the dictator,” referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as other anti-government slogans.
The video also shows a separate rally of pro-government supporters with Iranian national flags at the beginning. Later, clashes broke out between the two groups.
Journalists also verified photos of a peaceful sit-in protest at Shahid Beheshti University in the capital. Separate footage from Amir Kabir University of Technology in Tehran shows protesters chanting anti-government slogans.
In Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city, students chanted “Freedom, freedom” and “Students, shout for your rights.” Protests reportedly continued on February 23. There are no reports of any arrests.
The January protests, sparked by economic hardship, have become the largest since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The Human Rights Activists News Agency reported at least 7,015 confirmed deaths, including 6,508 protesters, 226 children and 214 government-affiliated individuals. It is also verifying 11,744 additional reports of possible casualties.
Iranian authorities late last month announced more than 3,100 deaths, saying most of them were security forces or civilians who were victims of “rioters.”
As is known,a wave of mass protests broke out in Iran at the end of last year, caused by the rapid fall of the national currency and the worsening economic crisis. Against the backdrop of the collapse of the Iranian rial, the ayatollah regime is increasingly losing control of the situation, which is causing open resistance in various regions of the country.
Later, Donald Trump stated that the United States could intervene in Iran’s internal affairs if peaceful protests were violently suppressed. He stressed that the United States was ready to support the demonstrators if the Iranian authorities used lethal force. On January 13, Trump once again expressed support for the Iranians and canceled all meetings with Iranian officials and emphasized that aid for the protesters was on the way .
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