Iran Security Forces Attack Protesters After Hijab Victim’s Burial

Ukrainian military officers told the Journal that the drones, thought to be Shahed-136 UAVs operate in pairs, one targeting nearby radar as the second one locks on its target and slams into it. The drones have hit several Ukrainian armored vehicles and artillery batteries.

The United States warned in July that Russia was planning to acquire military drones from Iran, which has made significant progress in developing UAVs to compensate for its lack of an effective air force.

The Biden Administration has been negotiating with Iran since April 2021 to achieve to revive a nuclear deal that restricted Tehran’s uranium enrichment program. In exchange for lifting economic sanctions. The negotiations are currently stalled as Washington says Iran has made unacceptable demands.

Opponents of the deal argue that the US should not lift the sanctions and instead should intensify pressure as Iran’s economy faces serious challenges after four years US restrictions on its oil exports and international banking.

Iran is a close ally of Russia and the two countries closely collaborated in the Syrian war, where Moscow supplied air power and Tehran deployed thousands of militias against rebel forces.

Col. Rodion Kulagin of the Ukrainian army told the WSJ that “he hoped the U.S. and allies could provide Ukraine with more advanced antidrone technologies, or would step in to disrupt Iranian drone shipments to Russia.”

Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman visiting Tehran from her native Kurdistan province was arrested by a hijab police patrol for not covering her hair properly. Immediately after her detention she received a severe head trauma and when two hours later she was transferred to hospital she was already in coma and brain dead.

Part of the political elite has shown rare sympathy for a citizen that many people see as the victim of the regime’s policies and the brutality of its agents. But judging by reactions on social media, not many people believe in these expressions of sympathy, some saying that politicians are after gaining credit from the incident.

Some politicians have criticized the hijab patrols, stopping women on the streets for their loose headscarves, but many on social media say the problem has gone beyond that and it is the clerical regime that is the root of this and similar draconian measures.

Nevertheless, many hardliners are defiant and defend the regime in the tragic incident.

Vice President Ensieh Khazali who has been under attack in recent days for her son having emigrated to Canada, denied the existence of hijab squads which are more than visible in the Iranian streets.

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Although Iran's reformists have at times reacted to social events, this is the first time hardliners such as Khazali feel the responsibility to be accountable, but they still evade genuine regrets and express support for the wrong side of the argument.

Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi wrote in a tweet that he has appointed one of his deputies to investigate the case. Many to his tweet, often harshly criticizing the way the government is handling the case and the issue of hijab and civil liberties in general.

IRGC-linked Fars news agency tried in an utterly fabricated report to whitewash the event by quoting unnamed "reliable sources" as saying that the young woman was ill before being arrested and taken to the notorious Vozara police station in Tehran.

Some Iranian hardliner lawmakers have expressed often vague opinions about the alleged murder. Lawmaker Hassan Lotfi told reporters that he is too busy and that he has not heard about the death of the young woman. He further advised Iranian women to observe the compulsory hijab rules.

Several other conservative lawmakers such as hardliner Jalal Rashidi Kouchi have also promised to follow up the case and end such "bitter events that are against religious teachings". Social media users have reminded other netizens that the MPs made many promises on other matters but failed to stand by their word.

On the reform front former IRGC Navy Commander Hossein Alaei called for a thorough investigation of the hijab squads. He has cautiously suggested that the not only the squads have failed to change Iranian women's lifestyle, but their behavior has led some of women to oppose the compulsory hijab. He further suggested that the hijab squad personnel should be assigned to necessary jobs such as tackling theft and muggings in the streets.

Other pro-reform figures such as former President Mohammad Khatami and politician Gholamhossein Karbaschi seemed to be concerned more about what the tragic event can do to the prestige of the regime. Former lawmaker Ali Motahari also wrote that he feared that the death in custody of Mahsa Amini could portray the Iranian government internationally as an entity like the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Pro-reform commentator Majld Tafreshi also called for an investigation into the case and expressed concern that anti-Iran elements might take advantage of the event.

One of the reformist Green Movement leaders Mehdi Karroubi said in his condolence message that the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has obstructed all avenues for reforms in Iran.

Some former officials and presidential candidates such as Mohsen Mehralizadeh and Abdolnasser Hemmati also mildly expressed regret for what had happened but did not point fingers at anyone. Former Vice Pesident Es'haq Jahangiri simply said that "You cannot ignore such bitter events. Stop this kind of behavior," without making clear who he was addressing.

Raisi made the remarks during a meeting with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the of the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Uzbek city of Samarkand Friday, in an apparent reference to escalation of decades-old hostilities between neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan.

“The basis of our policy in the region is that the fate of the countries is determined by themselves and their national sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected,” he said. 

Touching on the developments in the South Caucasus, he emphasized Tehran welcomes “the liberation” of Nagorno-Karabakh, and expressed Iran’s readiness to partake in reconstruction projects in the region.

Iran has to an extent supported Armenia in the conflict with Azerbaijan and has warned that it would not allow any seizure of territory from Armenia proper by Baku. Tehran in the past has also expressed alarm at alleged Israeli military presence in Azerbaijan. Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian also warned in October 2021 that Iran will not tolerate "geopolitical change" in the region and at the borders.

In the latest bout of clashes in September, Armenia said that scores of its soldiers had been killed in clashes along the border with Azerbaijan after a sharp escalation in hostilities which prompted Russia and the United States to call for restraint.

According to videos obtained by Iran International on Saturday, several protesters were injured when security forces fired at rally outside the building of the governor's office. 

People were chanting slogans against the authorities and sought justice for the perpetrators of the crime at the protest rally as well as during her funeral service at a graveyard in her hometown.

The 22-year-old Mahsa Amini who was arrested on Tuesday by the morality police, was taken to hospital two hours later after losing consciousness. She passed away Friday afternoon at Kasra Hospital in northern Tehran. Originally from Saqqez in Kurdistan province, Amini was arrested in her brother’s car on a visit to the capital to see their relatives.

Condemning her death, Amnesty International called on Friday for an investigation of the circumstances leading to her suspicious death. 

On Friday night, protests were held in several locations in Tehran -- including outside Tehran's Kasra hospital where she died -- in which people chanted slogans such as “Death to Khamenei,” “Death to Oppressors,” and "We Will Kill Those Who Killed Our Sister".

In recent months government and security agencies have intensified their efforts to pressure women into abiding by the hijab laws and several rounds of anti-hijab civil disobedience campaigns have followed.

Patrols by ‘morality police’ have increased on the streets and videos of violent arrests of women and girls as well as confrontations between people and hijab enforcers.

There was no mention that he would be speaking at the gathering when the news of his presence at the ceremony emerged. In fact, he was not sitting at his usual spot, facing the crowd. But according to media in Tehran, he gave a short address at the end, after the scheduled mourning ceremony.

The ceremony was held to mark Arbaeen with members of Basij militia from Iranian universities. Arbaeen is the 40th day after the death of the third Shiite Imam, Hussain Ibn Ali, who was killed in a power rivalry by the reigning caliph in a clash in Karbala in 680 AD.

According to the official news agency IRNA, in his short address Khamenei preached about Arbaeen and its significance and urged the Basij students to keep the Shia tradition alive.

The Iranian leader’s official website, Khamenei.ir, had announced Friday that he would be hosting a group of students at Imam Khomeini Hoseinieh, a gathering hall adjacent to his residence and office in central Tehran.

Iran's 83-year-old leader had not appeared in public for over two weeks after a visit to the religious city of Mashhad, his birth city, to attend a ritual at the Shrine of Imam Reza.

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Khamenei’s office even cancelled his annual meeting in early September with members of the Assembly of Experts (AoE) whose only responsibilities is selecting a successor for the Supreme Leader and disqualifying an existing one. One of the members of the assembly explained the cancellation as their wish not to put “a heavy burden” on Khamenei.The cancellation of the meeting with the Assembly, as well as at least one other scheduled meeting fueled rumors and suspicions that he was very sick or even dead.

The New York Times on Friday quoted four people familiar with Khamenei’s health condition as saying that he is gravely ill and is currently on bed rest under observation by a team of doctors, adding his appointments have been cancelled. But Khamenei public appearance Saturday put the NYT report in doubt.

Assembly of Experts spokesman, Ahmad Khatami, said September 7 that the members of the assembly had discussed the criteria for choosing the next leader during the previous week and said recent public discussions about Supreme Leader’s succession were simply rumors. Khatami did not elaborate, but it was obvious that he was speaking about widespread discussions on social media about Ali Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, being groomed to be the country's next leader.

On August 9 Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a prime minister in the 1980s who has been under house arrest since February 2011, had published a scathing attack hinting at plans for Khamenei’s son to succeed him and warned the nation over an alleged ‘hereditary leadership’ scheme.Hardliners focused on other topics in Mousavi’s note and fiercely attacked him but made no mention of the succession issue.

In recent weeks there has also been claims that Khamenei has delegated the responsibility for the nuclear talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal, Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (JCPOA) to President Ebrahim Raisi.

If true, the handover of the responsibility gives rise to speculations whether the leader delegated part of his authority because of a medical emergency, or to shift the responsibility to Raisi to remain in a position to criticize any possible deal, if things did not work well.