Iranians chant ‘death to dictator’ in Zahedan

This UGC image posted on Twitter reportedly on October 26, 2022 shows an unveiled woman standing on top of a vehicle as thousands make their way toward Aichi cemetery in Saqez, Mahsa Amini’s home town in the western Iranian province of Kurdistan, to mark 40 days since her death. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 18 December 2022
Follow

Iranians chant ‘death to dictator’ in Zahedan

  • Iranians hit streets again as protests enter fourth month
  • Waves of demonstrations since the September 16 death in custody of Mahsa Amini

JEDDAH: Hundreds have taken to the streets in Iran’s restive southeast, footage shared by human rights groups showed, beginning a fourth month of protests sparked by Mahsa Amini’s death.

The country has seen waves of demonstrations since the Sept. 16 death in custody of Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurd who had been arrested for allegedly violating the country’s strict dress code for women.

Protesters in Zahedan, the Sistan-Baluchestan provincial capital, chanted “Death to the dictator,” taking aim at supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to a video shared by Oslo-based Iran Human Rights.

Other images from Zahedan showed crowds of men, some raising posters with anti-regime slogans, and a group of black-clad women marching down what appeared to be a nearby street, also chanting slogans.

Sistan-Baluchestan, on Iran’s border with Afghanistan and Pakistan, had been the site of often deadly violence even before nationwide protests erupted.

The province’s Baluchi minority, who are Sunnis, have long complained of discrimination.

FASTFACT

Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, a prominent Iranian actor and supporter of protesters, was arrested for ‘publishing false and distorted content and inciting chaos.’

Meanwhile, a prominent actor was arrested on Saturday after she voiced support for the protests.

Taraneh Alidoosti, 38, was detained for “publishing false and distorted content and inciting chaos,” the Tasnim news agency reported.

She is best known for her role in the Oscar-winning 2016 film “The Salesman.”

In Germany, a group of Iranians reached the final day of a hunger strike while camped in tents outside the Iranian Consulate in Frankfurt in support of the protests.

Elsewhere, groups of oil workers held protests in southern Iran, demanding higher wages and retirement bonuses.

Opinion

This section contains relevant reference points, placed in (Opinion field)

The activist HRANA news agency said a group of oil workers protested outside the Pars Oil and Gas Company in Asaluyeh in the southern province of Bushehr on the Gulf.

“We don’t want a lying minister,” the Asaluyeh workers were heard chanting in a video carried by HRANA, referring to Oil Minister Javad Owji. Asaluyeh is a center for Iranian installations exploiting the world’s largest offshore gas field, which Iran shares with Qatar.

HRANA and other social media carried videos and photographs of similar protests by oil workers in areas including Ahvaz, the capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province, Gachsaran and Mahshahr.

Separately, the regime said on Saturday its uranium enrichment capacity had increased to record levels, a day before UN nuclear monitors are set to visit the country.

“Currently, the enrichment capacity of the country has reached more than twice the entire history of this industry,” Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said.


Lebanon says France to host conference to support army

Updated 3 sec ago
Follow

Lebanon says France to host conference to support army

  • Lebanon said Wednesday that a conference in support of the country’s army as it seeks to disarm militant group Hezbollah would take place in Paris on March 5
BEIRUT: Lebanon said Wednesday that a conference in support of the country’s army as it seeks to disarm militant group Hezbollah would take place in Paris on March 5.
The announcement follows recent promises of support to the military, which lacks funds, equipment and technical expertise.
Presidency spokeswoman Najat Charafeddine said President Joseph Aoun met French envoy Jean-Yves Le Drian, Saudi envoy Yazid bin Farhan and ambassadors including from the US, Egypt and Qatar, discussing preparations for “a conference to support the Lebanese army and internal security forces.”
“It was decided to hold the conference in Paris on March 5, to be opened by French President Emmanuel Macron,” she said at the presidential palace.
Under US pressure and fearing expanded Israeli strikes, Lebanon has committed to disarming the Iran-backed Hezbollah, which was badly weakened in more than a year of hostilities with Israel that largely ended in late 2024.
Last week, Lebanon’s army said it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm the group, covering the area south of the Litani river, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the Israeli border.
A plan for the disarmament north of the Litani is to be presented to cabinet next month.
Israel, which accuses Hezbollah or rearming, has criticized the army’s progress as insufficient, while Hezbollah has rejected calls to surrender its weapons.
Lebanon’s army has dismantled tunnels and other military infrastructure belonging to Hezbollah near the Israeli border in recent months, seizing weapons and ammunition, despite its limited capacities.
Despite the ceasefire, Israel has kept up regular strikes on Lebanon, usually saying it is targeting Hezbollah, and has maintained troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
Last month, talks with international envoys in Paris touched on the Lebanese army’s needs, while its chief agreed to document its progress in disarming Hezbollah.