Clashes between protesters and security forces continue across Iran, with social media videos showing tanks being taken to Kurdish areas which have been the focus of a crackdown on protests over a woman’s death in custody.
Protests calling for the fall of the clerical establishment have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, died on September 16 while being held by police for “inappropriate attire”.
Facing the boldest challenge to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution, the authorities have used force to suppress the biggest wave of dissent since 2019.
At least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by security forces, according to rights groups. The Iranian government says more than 20 members of security forces have been killed.
Iranian authorities have said they will investigate civilian deaths.
Unrest continued late on Monday and overnight after demonstrations spread into the country’s vital energy sector, according to videos on social media which Reuters could not confirm.
Energy installations in southwestern Iran were hit by strikes for a second day on Tuesday, with workers protesting at the Abadan oil refinery, Kangan and the Bushehr petrochemical plant, according to the widely followed Tavsir1500 Twitter account.
Videos posted on the account showed a few dozen workers chanting “Death to the dictator”, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Read the article in The Canberra Times (AAP).