Iran attempts to appease protesters after regime’s popularity erodes

Eslam Mohamed

In conjunction with the reopening of Iran and the resumption of economic activities that have been hampered by the corona virus pandemic, Iranian cities have returned to witnessing protests. Although limited, they could be exacerbated if life returns to normal and large numbers of citizens leave their voluntary home quarantine, showing that the popular protests did not stop, but had only calmed down due to the spread of virus in the country.

The authorities fear that angry protests will flare up again as the regime’s scandals and mistakes have accumulated, most prominently Tehran’s neglect of the health sector and its reluctance to fight the virus until it became widespread and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of citizens.

In an attempt to contain the anger, Iranian Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said in an interview with state television on Saturday, May 30, that the real number of deaths in the protests that broke out in November 2019 due to the sudden increase in gasoline prices would be announced soon, hinting that the number does not exceed 250. He added that 40-45 people, representing 20% ​​of the dead, were killed by unlicensed weapons. Strangely, Fazli described the dead protesters who demanded the fall of the regime as martyrs.

Over the past months, government agencies have blamed each other over who bears responsibility for announcing the death toll. The government had promised three times to announce the death toll, but only recognized five deaths, contradicting what Reuters had reported in the month following the protests quoting three Iranian interior officials that the dead numbered around 1,500.

The US Treasury recently imposed sanctions on Fazli and Police Chief Hussein Ashtari as human rights violators for their role in crushing the protests, and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo confirmed that Fazli was “the one who gave orders to the security forces to use excessive force.”

Fazli responded, saying, “America is our enemy. It started its interventions since the beginning of the revolution, the latest of which was the withdrawal from the nuclear agreement. We should not expect support from this enemy.” He accused the United States of trying to drag Iran into a situation like Syria, adding that Khamenei had ordered the secretariat of the Supreme National Security Council to open an investigation into the incident and that the armed forces and interior forces have also opened investigations.

It is noteworthy that MP Ali Motahari accused Fazli of being responsible for crushing the protests, revealing that Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani had suspended his interrogation.

It is also worth mentioning that the protesters in the November uprising had burned images of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his predecessor, Ruhollah Khomeini, demanding the fall of the regime and accused it of corruption. In return, the regime carried out massacres against the protesters.

For its part, Amnesty International said that it documented the deaths of more than 300 people, including 23 children. It announced that it has pictures and videos of the mass killing of peaceful protesters.