The death of 22-year-old Iranian Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the deputy police, moved Iran. A powerful wave of protests swept the country against harsh religious laws and the dominance of the clergy. The explosion of discontent came at a time of political uncertainty in Iran, sparked by rumors about the health of 83-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and discussions about the candidacy of his potential successor. The situation is exacerbated by the faded prospects of removing Western sanctions from Iran due to the likely breakdown of negotiations on a nuclear deal.
On Sunday, Iranian newspapers representing conservative and reformist media ran radically different editorials. The conservative press focused on the participation of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei – amid rumors of his serious illness – at the Arbain mourning ceremony on Saturday (dedicated to the fortieth day since the tragic death of Imam Hussein in the 7th century, takes place every year in Iran and Iraq according to the Islamic lunar calendar). The reformists have devoted central publications to the story of a 22-year-old girl Mahsa Amini from Iranian Kurdistan.
Mahsa Amini arrived in Tehran last week and was arrested by the police as she exited the subway with her brother. The reason for the detention was the improperly worn hijab, the use of which is mandatory for all women in Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
Recently, Iranian girls have begun to afford not to completely cover their hair, and Mahsa Amini was no exception. Iranian security forces released a statement claiming that Ms. Amini suddenly passed out from a heart attack in a detention center while she was undergoing hijab training and was taken to the hospital where she fell. in a coma. Official reports of her death appeared on Friday. According to media close to the Iranian authorities, the girl suffered from epilepsy and other diseases. However, her family denies this information. They believe the death was the result of a beating in the detention center.
The girl’s funeral sparked protests in her hometown of Sekkez, as well as in the administrative center of Iranian Kurdistan, the city of Senendej. According to Iranian human rights organizations, more than 30 people were injured in clashes with security forces. Protesters tore up Ali Khamenei posters and sang “Death to the dictator!” and “Shame on you!”.
Opponent Iranian media also reported on a protest held Sunday at the University of Tehran. The students held posters in Farsi and Kurdish, including those that read “I don’t want to die!” and “Your blood will not be trampled!”, as well as “Women, life and freedom”.
A wave of indignation literally blew up the Iranian-speaking segment of the Internet. More than 2.5 million Twitter posts and several tens of thousands on Telegram are dedicated to the story of Mahsa Amini.
Many people remember other women being tortured in Iranian prisons and claim that all could have been in place of the deceased girl. “The government is using heretical violence and cruelty against women, invisible even under medieval dictatorships,” tweeted prominent Iranian journalist Sara Masoumi, who usually writes about Iranian diplomacy and foreign policy. Many say the situation in the country is worse than under the Taliban in Afghanistan (the Taliban movement is officially banned in the Russian Federation. “ehm”).
Given the degree of indignation in Iranian society, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has ordered an urgent official investigation into the causes of Mahsa Amini’s death. However, the intensity of the passions has not yet subsided.
On Sunday, the Iranian media reported that the situation in Sekkez is still tense, mobile communications are intermittent, even though the internet, which had been disconnected the day before, is working again. A number of Iranian Kurdish parties and organizations have called for a general strike, as well as mourning the death of Mahsa Amini. They were joined by Reza Pahlavi, son of the last Shah of Iran, who lives in exile. He called to honor not only the memory of the deceased girl, but “and all the dead children of Iran”.
Mahsa Amini’s death caused a wide reaction abroad as well. In particular, it was commented by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and US Special Envoy for Iran Robert Malley, who accused Tehran of another human rights violation.
Mahsa Amini’s story coincided with a period of political instability in Iran.
In recent weeks, the state of health of 83-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who has practically ceased to appear in public and who on September 6 skipped a meeting of the Assembly of Experts, which is held twice a year with his mandatory presence, has been actively discussed. American newspaper Friday The New York Times reported that the supreme leader canceled all meetings after undergoing surgery and continued high fever. Seven years ago it was reported that Ali Khamenei was suffering from cancer. In this context, there is much discussion about who will succeed him as supreme leader of Iran, which he has held since 1989. The two most cited candidates are incumbent president Ebrahim Raisi and Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, 53. It is assumed that the future leader will be chosen by the Assembly of Experts, but there is no clear practice, as the electoral procedure was carried out only once, in 1989. On Saturday, Ali Khamenei nevertheless appeared in public during the ceremony. of Arbaeen, but that did not eliminate questions about Iran’s future. Furthermore, the country’s fate is very vague: the hope of lifting Western sanctions, associated with negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program, has practically vanished. The United States believes that Tehran has proposed unacceptable conditions for the relaunch of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which would limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions.
“Given that Raisi took over the presidency at a very unstable moment for Iran (the nuclear deal has not been restored, sanctions are tightened, the inflation rate is over 50%), it can be assumed that the presidency has become something like suicide ”for him. And although the situation of the hereditary transfer of power of the supreme leader may cause discontent, but given Mojtaba Khamenei’s close ties to the security forces and the military sector, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), his candidacy it could be a convenient option that guarantees the stability of the regime, in which the military and security services will retain their advantages, “Iranian Polina Vasilenko told Kommersant.
“There is no guarantee that the handover after Khamenei will lead to positive changes in Iran. After all, the IRGC has already paved the way for a safe transition so that the current political elite remains in place, “Hamidreza Azizi, a researcher at the German Institute for International Affairs and Security, told Kommersant. , all this reduces the hopes for change in Iranian society, both political and economic. “Mahsa Amini’s death has sparked a protest unlike any other in Iran since 2009, when another young Iranian, Neda Agha-Soltan, was killed by gunfire by the security forces during the protests. But now literally everyone felt in Mahsa Amini’s place. It is not necessary to go to the protests to become a victim, “explained the expert. He stressed that the authorities were simply forced to take control of the investigation into Mahsa Amini’s death to calm the situation, even if people don’t believe he will listen to the truth. “But even as the wave of protests subsides now, each new incident will cause more and more frustration among Iranians. Having lost hope in reforms, they will no longer be afraid, ”Azizi added.
–
