Tehran: Even as protests continue across the country over the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini, Iranians on Tuesday went on strike in several cities, including the capital, Tehran, in commemoration of the bloody 2019 protests over fuel prices.
The call to commemorate those killed in 2019 are expected to give new impetus to the protests that have been taking place in Iran for two months following the Amini’s detention of the morality police for not adhering to the strict dress code in Iran.
Shops were closed in the famous Grand Bazaar in the capital, Tehran, as well as in the cities of Kerman, Mahabad, Rasht, Shiraz, and Yazd, according to videos posted by the 1500 Tasvir account on Twitter.
In another online video, protesters can be heard chanting “Death to the dictator” at a metro station in Tehran, using a slogan aimed at Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The “1,500 Tasvir” account also published a video showing steel workers striking and gathering in a parking lot in the historic city of Isfahan.
This call to protest on, Tuesday, November 15 comes to commemorate the third anniversary of the start of the Bloody Aban – or Bloody November – movements, when the sudden increase in fuel prices led to bloody protests.
The days of unrest in Iran since November 15, 2019 have seen police stations attacked, shops looted, and banks and gas stations set on fire, while the authorities resorted to cutting off internet access for a week.
Reuters reported at the time that 1,500 people were killed in the wave of unrest, which began as a protest against fuel price hikes, but quickly turned into political protests. Iran rejected that death toll.
Protests have erupted in Iran since September 16, 2022, following the death of Mahsa Amini, 3 days after she was arrested by the morality police for not complying with the strict rules of dress in the Islamic Republic.
The protest movement grew out of anger at the dress code imposed on women, but has evolved into a broad movement against the clerical rule that has been in place in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
The movement has not abated, despite the Iranian authorities’ use of lethal force to confront what rights groups say are largely peaceful protesters, as well as a campaign of mass arrests of activists, journalists, and lawyers.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), 348 people were killed in the recent protests, including 52 minors. The agency said that it also witnessed the killing of 40 security personnel, in addition to the arrest of 15,915 people.
