EXPERT: Iranian protests turn anti-Palestinian (IRAN News UPDATE) (www.israel365news.com)

Iran has been rocked by three weeks of protests and though the demonstrations were sparked off by the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman from Iranian Kurdistan who was arrested for removing her hijab, the fury goes much deeper. According to one expert, the riots may signal the start of an uprising that will change the entire region.

Amini was arrested by the “morality police” on September 13 as she exited a train in Tehran. She was accused of wearing “tight pants”. Her brother who accompanied her begged for her release but to no avail. He waited outside of the Vozara morality police detention center but after two hours, she was transferred by ambulance to the Kasra hospital. 

The authorities claimed she died from preexisting conditions but her family claims she was healthy until her arrest. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered an investigation into the case of Amini but the details being released are sketchy.

The incident sparked off protests which Iran has blamed on “thugs” linked to “foreign enemies” for the unrest.  Etemad Online website in Tehran quoted IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh who is in charge of Mohammad Rasoulallah Divisionin the IRGC as saying that “the IRGC has understood through eavesdropping that America is behind the protests and wishes to send Iranians to the streets to protest.”

Labor strikes and protests at universities have spread across the country and demonstrations around the world have been held in solidarity. Street protests have turned violent with cars and shops burning.

The media reported that at least 19 security personnel have been killed. Troops used tear gas and live ammunition to quell the riots. Reports of civilian deaths vary, going as high as 150 killed. Activists, cultural figures, and journalists have been arrested.  

A video posted on social media showed protesters giving flowers to members of the riot police in Tehran, echoing the 1979 Iranian Islamic Revolution when students overthrew the government of the Shah, replacing it with the regime of Ayatollah Khomeini.

The last major wave of protests in Iran was in 2019 over fuel prices. 1,500 people were killed in those protests. 

One unusual image that came out was a video of protesters tearing down the street signs of Enghelab (Revolution), Jomhouri Eslami (Islamic Republic) in Tehran, while chanting “Death to Khamenei” on Saturday.’