HASAt least 92 people have been killed in Iran by the crackdown on protests that erupted two weeks ago after the death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by morality police, the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR) said on Sunday. In addition, 41 other people died in clashes Friday in southeastern Iran, in a border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, added the NGO citing local sources, without it being possible to know to what extent this violence is linked to the death of Mahsa Amini at the age of 22. President Ebrahim Raïsi, in a press release, affirmed that these demonstrations were the fruit of the country’s enemies: ” As the Islamic Republic was overcoming economic problems to become more active in the region and in the world, the enemies came into play with the intention of isolating the country, but they failed in this conspiracy »he said.
The protests in Iran, the largest since 2019, were sparked by the death on September 16 of this Iranian Kurd, three days after her arrest for violating the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic which notably obliges women to wear the veil. Solidarity rallies with Iranian women, who burn headscarves in protest, have since taken place around the world, including Saturday in more than 150 cities.
At least 92 demonstrators have been killed in Iran since the start of the movement, according to the IHR, whose previous report put the death toll at 83. The Oslo-based NGO is struggling to assess the death toll despite internet shutdowns and blockages of apps like WhatsApp or Instagram and other online services in Iran. Tehran is also facing unrest in the southeast of the country, where five members of the Revolutionary Guards, Iran’s ideological army, were killed in violence on Friday in Zahedan, capital of the province of Sistan-Balochistan.
The Revolutionary Guards spoke of clashes with ” terrorists ». It was not immediately clear whether the clashes were linked to protests that have been taking place across Iran since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, arrested by vice squad. ” With the death on Saturday evening of one of the paramilitary forces, the number of martyrs of the Revolutionary Guards in the Zahedan terrorist incident which occurred on Friday rises to five », the official Irna agency said, citing a statement from the guards. According to Irna, 32 members of the ideological army were also injured.
This poverty-stricken province has often been the scene of clashes with Baloch minority rebels, Sunni Muslim extremist groups and drug trafficking gangs. But a Sunni Muslim preacher, Molavi Abdol Hamid, said the community was ‘inflamed’ after the alleged rape of a 15-year-old girl by a police official in the province, in a post on the cleric’s website. last week.
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The IHR accused Iranian security forces of having ” repressed in blood » a demonstration Friday after prayers in Zahedan, following these accusations. ” The killings of protesters in Iran, especially in Zahedan, constitute a crime against humanity »said IHR Director Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam: ” The international community has a duty to investigate and prevent further crimes from being committed by the Islamic Republic. »
Iran has blamed the protests in the country on outside forces, including its arch-enemy, the United States, as well as Washington’s Western allies. Iran’s Intelligence Ministry said on Friday that nine foreign nationals – including from France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Poland – had been arrested in connection with the protests, along with 256 members of terrorist groups. illegal opposition in the eyes of Tehran. In addition, more than 1,200 demonstrators have been arrested since the start of the protests, according to an official report. Activists, lawyers and journalists were also arrested, according to NGOs.
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The unrest comes as Iran seeks to reinvigorate the 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other major powers to end a punitive sanctions regime that has strangled its economy and the freezing of billions of dollars abroad. Washington pulled out of the deal in 2018 under Donald Trump, and negotiations to revive it have stalled.
In a rare concession, Tehran allowed an Iranian-American detained in Iran since 2016, Baquer Namazi, 85, to leave the country, and released his son, Siamak Namazi, a 50-year-old businessman arrested in 2015. the UN confirmed on Saturday. Following the release, Iran is now awaiting the release of around $7 billion in funds frozen abroad, state media said on Sunday.