‘No future for us’: disaffected Iranians say it’s now or never to topple regime | Iran

M.Ehnaz was too young to protest when Mahsa Amini died in police custody three years ago following her arrest for allegedly wearing a headscarf inappropriately. Her mother did not allow her to join the crowds chanting “women, life, freedom” in Tehran and across the country; So he could only watch at home as they were driven back with batons and bullets.

Since then, the 19-year-old computer science student in Tehran has been waiting for the chance to join his fellow Iranians in protest. On Sunday, that moment finally arrived.

The sudden drop in the value of the Iranian currency was the latest blow to a population tired of being patient in the face of a struggling economy. Protests soon began and spread throughout Tehran; The biggest protests in recent years began in the country; some of these proved fatal. While at least 10 people lost their lives in the violence during the protests, two new deaths occurred overnight..

“Despite my mother’s fears, I also participated [on protests] on Wednesday. They execute us, yet they arrest us. Now people are thinking: If they keep killing us when we’re not even on the streets to protest, why are we waiting for the right moment?” said Mehnaz, speaking under a pseudonym for fear of possible repercussions.

The demonstrations began with merchants closing their shops to protest worsening economic conditions and spread from Tehran to about 32 cities across the country. The scope of the movement, which started as a movement to express economic difficulties, expanded as protesters chanted slogans against the Iranian government.

Students and activists began chanting “death to the dictator,” referring to 86-year-old religious leader Ali Khamenei, and “women, life, freedom,” recalling the 2022 protests that paralyzed Iran.

As the protests grow, so do the government’s concerns. Iran’s president, reformer Masoud Pezeshkian, initially announced that he had instructed authorities to listen to the “legitimate demands” of the protesters and sought dialogue with protest leaders.

At the same time, Iranian human rights groups allege that security forces used lethal force against protesters. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran said on Friday: It was stated that eight protesters were killed and dozens were injured by state security forces. According to the human rights activists news agency, at least 119 people were arrested for participating in the protests.

Rıza, a 20-year-old university student who participated in the protests, explained how the plainclothes police and the Basij were. [the volunteer paramilitary force] He burst into their dormitory on New Year’s Eve. They began interrogating and beating students when they asked who was leading the protests. Many classes have since been moved online to prevent gatherings on campuses, where security forces have strengthened their presence.

“Joining these protests is a matter of destroying our future, but we have realized that there is no future for us under this regime, so why should we be afraid and hide now?” said Riza, who wanted to use a pseudonym.

The protests come at an unstable time for Iran’s government, which has been reeling from a 12-day war with Israel in June. More than 1,000 people were killed when Israel bombed Iran with almost impunity for almost two weeks.

This was a blow to the image of the impregnable Iranian regime, which has said for years that Israel would not dare attack Iran on its own soil. Iranians watched Israelis crowding into subway stations and sheltering in missile shelters as they were forced to flee Tehran under bomb threats, and wondered why their country had not been better prepared for a looming war for years.

As protests spread across the country, Donald Trump twice threatened a new attack on Iran. He told reporters on Monday that if Iran rebuilds its missile capabilities, he will “take them down”; Iran rejects this claim. On Friday, he threatened that the United States would intervene if Iran killed protesters, warning that the United States was “locked in, primed, and ready to go.”

Trump’s threats led Iranian officials to say that the protests inside the country were foreign-backed; Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, accused the USA and Israel of having a hand in the demonstrations.

The threats facing the Iranian government have only fueled some protesters’ beliefs that it is time to take to the streets.

“We’re fed up, and after June we know we have to strike them when they’re at their weakest, which is the case now. They say you’ve got to strike the iron while it’s hot, right?” said Mehnaz.

Another protester, a 28-year-old, said that instead of foreign military strikes, he wants the West to put diplomatic pressure on Iranian officials and provide protesters with technical support, such as ensuring the internet remains open in Iran.

Fueling the protests is a troubled economy with Iran’s inability to access frozen assets and foreign currency abroad, which experts blame on a mix of government mismanagement and international sanctions that have led to inflation. The Iranian rial has lost more than 50 percent of its value in the last six months and more than 200 percent in the last three years.

As people’s purchasing power decreased, the cost of living also increased; Food prices have increased by half on average since this time last year. The new government tax, which is expected to come into force on March 21, the Iranian New Year, has made people even more angry.

It is unclear whether the protests can withstand a violent crackdown like in 2022. This time the protests are smaller and there is no central figure like Mahsa Amini to rally behind. Claims are more dispersed and complaints are more economic in nature.

Still, protesters on the streets say they are determined to stay put until they see real change. They say they have learned lessons from the protests three years ago and are eager to apply those lessons.

“We learned that the only way to achieve freedom no matter what is to continue protesting and to do it consistently and strategically, which I think was missing in the past,” said Moein, a 28-year-old protester in Lorestan who spoke under a pseudonym. “We knew we wanted the end of the regime, and that was the common goal of all the protests.”