Eye on Iran's Protests - October 18, 2022

A protest movement is sweeping Iran in the aftermath of the killing of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the so-called “morality police.” UANI’s Eye on Iran's Protests is a daily news and events round-up to increase awareness of this movement and the regime’s brutal response. Now is the time to support the Iranian people.

Human Rights Groups Call For U.N. Probe Of Iran's Crackdown On Protesters | Voice Of America
More than 40 human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, are calling on the United Nations to convene an emergency session on Iran. Among their concerns is the widespread use of live ammunition and metal pellets that have resulted in over 200 deaths – 32 of which were children – and many more severe injuries. 

At The Center Of Iran’s Uprising, Kurds Now Face A Mounting Crackdown | Washington Post
Kurdish regions are central to the Iranian regime’s repression of nation-wide protests. Security officials roam the streets with heavy weapons and drive armored vehicles through the capital of the Kurdistan province, Sanandaj. There have been reports of security forces firing into the homes of residents – who have no way of communicating given the near-total internet blackout. “Sanandaj is now a military zone with weapons of war being used,” a 30-year-old resident told the Washington Post.  

Concern Mounts For Iranian Climber Who Competed Without Hijab | Agence France-Presse
Iranian climber Elnaz Rekabi – who broke the Islamic Republic’s restrictions on women athletes by competing in Seoul on Sunday without her hijab – reportedly returned to Iran yesterday, earlier than initially planned. Reports that she had been pressured by Iranian officials in Seoul, and that her phone and passport had been taken away, added to concerns about her well-being. Rekabi apologized on her Instagram feed for any “concerns” she may have caused by not wearing her hijab, and insisted that her actions were “unintentional.”  

Student demonstrators lined the streets at Mazandaran University in northern Iran.

Tehran Art University students held hands and sang “Oh Iran” in solidarity with the protest movement.

Last night, protesters took to the streets of Abdanan, hurled stones, and burned a statue.

Protesters threw Molotov cocktails at a Basij building in Ilam.

Beheshti University students broke Islamic Republic of Iran segregation rules by eating together in the school dining hall.

U.S. President Biden addressed Iranian protesters yesterday. He said, “keep fighting, we are with you.”

Team Biden Does 180 On Iran Protests As Obama Admits 'Mistake' Not To Back 2009 Demonstrations | Just The News
UANI Policy Director Jason Brodsky advocates for the Biden administration to take more “concrete action” in support of the protesters in Iran, while acknowledging that Biden’s recent remarks represent “progress.” Brodsky mentioned that, at the very least, the U.S. could spearhead the creation of a U.N. Commission of Inquiry on Iran. 

Iran Protesters Need Same Western Support As Ukraine, Say Exiles | The Guardian
Reporting on an open letter signed by Iranian human rights activists and a prominent group of Iranian exiles, this Guardian article notes that the travel bans and asset freezes recently imposed by western countries on Iranian officials and entities are largely “symbolic.” The west has not broken off JCPOA negotiations or downgraded diplomatic relations, this article reminds the reader. 

“The Biden administration continues to believe that diplomacy is the best way to achieve the goal of preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon,” said U.S. Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley in reference to reviving the 2015 JCPOA.

Iran Nuclear Deal Not Happening 'Anytime Soon,' White House Says | Yahoo News
The White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said yesterday in a press briefing, “we don’t see a [nuclear] deal [with Iran] coming together anytime soon.” She qualified that assessment, though, by pointing out that “the door for diplomacy will always remain open.” 

Swiss Considering Wider EU Sanctions On Iran Over Amini Death | Reuters
Switzerland – which is not part of the E.U. – is reportedly considering adopting the E.U.’s strengthened sanctions against Iran. The E.U. levied sanctions against 11 individuals and 4 entities connected to the death of Mahsa Amini and the subsequent crackdown on protests yesterday. 

An image of Mahsa Amini – whose death at the hands of the “Morality Police” spurred the current protests – was projected onto the side of a building in Tehran.

Sadjadpour: A 'Representative Government In Tehran' Would Be A 'Geopolitical Game Changer' For U.S. | MSNBC
“It behooves the U.S. to do everything to try to help the cause of representative government in Iran because this is perhaps one of the most anti-American regimes in the world, and a representative government in Tehran would be a positive geopolitical game changer for the U.S.,” Iran scholar Karim Sadjadpour explains in this interview with MSNBC.

The Beginning Of The End Of The Islamic Republic | Foreign Affairs
U.S.-based Iranian-American journalist and activist Masih Alinejad argues in Foreign Affairs magazine that the Islamic Republic rests on three pillars: namely, anti-Americanism, anti-Israel antagonism, and misogyny, especially in the form of the compulsory hijab. “If any of these pillars weakens, the whole edifice of the Islamic Republic falls down,” she continues. Alinejad calls on President Biden to make a “major address” in support of the Iranian protesters and halt negotiations with the Islamic Republic and instate human rights as a precondition for renewing them. Moreover, administration officials should meet with the Iranian diaspora and dissidents, and work with Elon Musk’s satellite internet-provider Starlink to improve internet connectivity in Iran. The current protests sound the “death knell” of the Islamic Republic, and the west has a role to play in its downfall.  

This piece of anti-regime propaganda art shows Elnaz Rekabi climbing the face of an old, bearded man – presumably the supreme leader or another clerical figure.