Protests Break Out in North-Eastern Iran as Society Continues to Resist Regime’s Suppression

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (PMOI / MEK Iran), reported that the protests have broken out in north-eastern Iran following a horrifying incident that the Iranian regime has failed to react to.

A security guard in Golestan Dam raped two young children – girls of seven and eight years. The families of these young girls pressed charges of rape against the security guard and filed a judicial complaint. However, the regime’s prosecutor rejected the charges and said that the forensic report does not prove that any rape took place.

In the village of Arab Sharank, locals were livid and started to protest. The regime dispatched the State Security Forces (SSF) in an attempt to break up the protests but this just further enraged the people. There were clashes between the two sides and the windows of several SSF vehicles were broken.

Just a couple of days ago, the head of Iran’s judiciary Ebrahim Raisi warned the people that “insecurity” will not be tolerated. He said: “No insecurity in society is tolerable; the police and security officials should let disruptors act.”

And on the day before Persian New Year, police and the SSF held a military maneuver. On the morning of Saturday 21^st March, several parties gathered in Azadi Square including Tehran’s Governor Anoushirvan Mohseni Bandapi, the Chief of Tehran’s police force, and the SSF commander. A local publication reported that the forces gathered to “demonstrate their capabilities”.

The protests in north-eastern Iran come just a month after the uprising that took place in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan. This uprising broke out after the regime opened fire on impoverished fuel porters.

Many other protests, strikes, and anti-government demonstrations have been taking place across the country and people from all social classes have been making their discontent known. Despite the Coronavirus health crisis, there have been hundreds of protests taking place across the country over the past year.

The regime is unable to quell dissent. It is at a dead-end because whether it continues to respond brutally to the protesters or just ignore them, the people are going to continue. It has been made very clear by the people that they will never accept the rule of the mullahs.

Back in November 2019, the people of Iran showed their bravery, their resilience, and their determination. The regime killed and injured thousands and thousands of protesters, but it did not weaken the people’s resolve. If anything, it made them even more determined to resist.

The protests of November 2019 broke out after the regime announced a huge hike in fuel prices. The protests took the regime by surprise, especially when they spread like wildfire across the country and by how quickly they turned from protests about an economic issue into major calls for the regime to be overthrown.

The regime is very concerned about a repeat of this and state-run media outlets have warned that there is nothing it can do to stop it. The people have nothing left to lose so they are going to push for the regime’s collapse.