Many Iranian cities were once again the scene of overnight protests, as the Islamic Republic is marking the 44th anniversary of the revolution that brought Iran’s clerical rulers to power.
Defying an ongoing brutal crackdown by security forces on more than four months of nationwide protests, angry demonstrators took to the streets of several Tehran neighborhoods late on February 2 and chanted slogans against the Islamic Republic’s leadership.
“Death to the dictator” and “Death to a child murderer regime,” were among the slogans changed by the demonstrators gathered Ekbatan, Naziabad, Naramk, Niyavaran and other areas of the capital.
In the northeastern city of Mashhad, protesters set fire to banners that had been installed for the ongoing commemorations of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Every year, the Islamic Republic holds a ten-day celebration to mark the return of its founding father, Ruhollah Khomeini, to Tehran on February 11, 1979.
Rallies also rocked the central city of Isfahan overnight, with some protesters setting fire to a police conex box near the municipality office.
Residents of Shahin Shahr, Najaf Abad and other cities in Isfahan province also came onto the streets to voice anger at the clerical regime.
Demonstrators defied the heavy presence of security forces in the northern city of Rasht and Bander-e-Abbas, in the south.
Similar rallies were held in the provinces of Sistan and Baluchestan and Kurdistan, where the state clampdown on the women-led protest movement has been particularly intense.
The authorities have cracked down hard on the widespread protests triggered by the September 16 death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, in the custody of Tehran’s morality police.
Security forces have killed more than 520 people, including dozens of children, and detained over 18,000, activists say.
The judiciary has handed down stiff sentences, including the death penalty, to protesters.
Source » iranwire