An the 43rd anniversary of the occupation of the American embassy in Tehran, there were rallies for and against the regime in Iran. While President Ebrahim Raisi said at a state demonstration in front of the former embassy building that Iran had liberated itself in 1979, protest marches formed after Friday prayers, especially in the southeast of Iran, at which “Down with Khamenei” was chanted in the city of Zahedan, for example. The local Sunni Friday preacher, Mawlawi Abdolhamid, said in the sermon to the rulers: “You will not be able to push the people back even with manslaughter and prisons.” Bloody clashes with dead people were reported from several cities on Friday.
According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency website, protests have taken place in 133 cities and 131 universities since September 17. The number of participants in the protests cannot be verified. The Javan newspaper, which is published by the Revolutionary Guards, wrote on Thursday that the young demonstrators were against the norms of the Islamic Republic. “They are neither religious nor satisfied with their situation. They don’t believe in marriage and that’s why they’re on the streets.” Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Salami on Friday threatened “vengeance on the enemies who interfere”. “But we cannot say how and where we will take revenge.” Salami had repeatedly accused Saudi Arabia of inciting the protests.
The secret service conducts regular surveys
For the first time, figures have now been published on how the leadership of the Islamic Republic assesses the wave of protests. 55 percent of the population are said to support the protests. As many as 83 percent had sympathy for them in principle, without having taken part in them. According to media reports, Mostafa Rostami, the representative of revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the universities, gave these figures at a meeting with student associations at the university in the western Iranian city of Ilam.
The survey showed that 60 percent of Iranians who express sympathy say the poor economic living conditions are the main reason for the protests. Rostami did not specify who conducted the survey. It is known that the secret service regularly conducts surveys without publishing the results. Rostami belongs to the inner circle of Ali Khamenei’s confidants. For the first time, the revolutionary leader did not describe the protests as “unrest” but as a “hybrid war” against Iran.
Meanwhile, attacks on Shia clerics are increasing. Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, head of the theological training centers in the pilgrimage site of Qom, said many of them no longer dared to leave their homes. They shaved their beards and refrained from wearing their robes in public. Numerous recordings are circulating on the Internet of mullahs being harassed and insulted.
The economy is still in the downward spiral. The Iranian currency, the rial, has depreciated by 20 percent against the dollar since the beginning of the year. Queues form in front of exchange offices in Tehran. The Tehran Stock Exchange index has fallen 30 percent since the beginning of the year. The President of the Association of Iranian Chambers of Commerce estimates the capital flight over the past four years at $45 billion. The funds are mostly invested in the Arab Gulf States, Turkey and Georgia, preferably in real estate.
