Huge anti-government protests in Tehran and other Iranian cities

[Twiglets1]

Huge crowds of protesters have been marching through Iran's capital and other cities, videos show, in what is said to be the largest show of force by opponents of the clerical establishment in years.

The peaceful demonstrations in Tehran and the second city of Mashhad on Thursday evening, which were not dispersed by security forces, can be seen in footage verified by BBC Persian.

Later, a monitoring group reported a nationwide internet blackout.

Protesters can be heard in the footage calling for the overthrow of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the return of Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the late former shah, who had urged his supporters to take to the streets.

It was the 12th consecutive day of unrest that has been sparked by anger over the collapse of the Iranian currency and has spread to more than 100 cities and towns across all 31 of Iran's provinces, according to human rights groups.

The US-based Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) has said at least 34 protesters - five of them children - and eight security personnel have been killed, and that 2,270 other protesters have been arrested.

Norway-based monitor Iran Human Rights (IHR) has said at least 45 protesters, including eight children, have been killed by security forces.

BBC Persian has confirmed the deaths and identities of 22 people, while Iranian authorities have reported the deaths of six security personnel.

Iranian state media downplayed the scale of Thursday's unrest. In some cases, they denied protests had taken place altogether, posting videos of empty streets.

Meanwhile, internet watchdog NetBlocks said its metrics showed that Iran was "in the midst of a nationwide internet blackout".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg7y0579lp8o

Our current asylum and immigration system is so insane that people from proscribed groups have been granted asylum anyway. We could be going back to the days of Iranian hardliners living in Europe while plotting to take control of a 'westernised' Iran. I want the dissents in Iran to succeed but we need to prevent the Islamists moving here.

The comparison with Gaza "we'll trust one side to provide unverified figures about how nasty the other side are"
and Iran "nothing to see here, just angry shop keepers
is astounding

and the UTTER silence from certain UK politicians who should be praising a rebellion against despots

Isn't it just.

Dreadful.

I agree. There's a lot of hypocrisy in the coverage of Iran compared to Gaza with regard to journalism (amongst other things).

I agree with people who said Israel should have allowed unescorted international journalists into Gaza after the ceasefire (not before in my opinion as just too risky that Hamas would kidnap them and use that as more leverage).

But - the situation in Iran is way worse. No journalists at all and for the last few days - no legal internet either.

Yes the only footage we are seeing is from Starlink. But it's illegal in Iran and carries the death penalty so again, incredibly brave of people that are using it there to share information.

🙄

I hope that the next few years will see a lessening of interest in celebrities. Most of them have very little talent, and those that do tend to not be reported on as much as the vapid ones. The amount of coverage given to the Beckhams and Ramsays is absolutely absurd.

I agree ... the best celebrities just stick to what they're good at and don't care about their "brand" or share their wedding photos, opinions on current affairs or anything else.

Omid on X now reporting that thousands killed by government forces in the last few days. I’ve read BBC and Sky and if I wasn’t looking elsewhere I’d think that these were riots over the price of eggs caused by naughty Trumps sanctions.
I mean, it’s a part of it I know, but, um, the little matter of ongoing state sanctioned murder, rape, kidnapping and abuse of the population for 47 years?? The appalling oppression of ALL IRANIAN WOMEN?? Barely touched on.
I’m not in any way a conspiracy theorist. I’m solidly left wing, socialist even. I’m live and let live with religion and cultures. But this reticence of the entire establishment to NAME what the brave Iranians are fighting and dying for is shocking.
People are sharing photo after photo of murdered teenagers and I am crying. They are like my children. I just can’t imagine.
And all the so called liberal politicians and commentators seem to care about is that Israel or the US don’t interfere?
Some loonies are even staring confidently that the whole thing is orchestrated by Israel and not real?
FML. Sorry, just actually so emotional about this.

People are more focussed on US and Israel not reacting than the atrocities on the ground. I don’t think the latter should as there’s too much opprobrium and the US will be vilified if they do or don’t act.

But it is sad to see where people aim their energy, and it’s not for the people in Iran.

Omid Djalili was on Times Radio this morning. He gave a very moving account of some of the footage he had seen involving children being shot. He also called out the bbc for falsely reporting that the counter protests were bigger.

Just read that about 2,000 people have been killed so far and executions are planned for tomorrow. Absolutely awful.

I think there is a bit of a bias in the left leaning press that it is reticent to be joyful in the fall of an Islamic regime for fear of offence.

It's is if certain communities have distanced themselves from the poor Iranians that have given their life in protest as they are unsure they were good Muslims as they have rebelled against an Islamic state. It is a conundrum for the left and I think many are just in hiding really trying to reconcile this with the Israel Gaza war where their opinions are a lot more forthcoming.

That's heartbreaking. I dread to think what the actually death toll is. In the ODj interview I mentioned, he stated that the true figure was already in the high thousands. Its sickening.

Well yeah. But I wish people would stop labelling things “ left” and “right” now. There ARE genuinely left wing people who think Israel should exist, Hamas declared war on Israel, and the Iranians need our support and help to overthrow an abusive regime. Im one of them and I’m a pretty bog standard middle of the road lefty (pro well funded public services, NHS, pro unions etc).

It’s the establishment, the voice of Auntie, the Police, the Civil Service that perpetually gaslights us as ordinary uk citizens of all stripes. And then they wonder why people are angry and going towards the idiotic reform. It’s because at least if you are in that group you can say the unsayable.

There ARE genuinely left wing people who think Israel should exist, Hamas declared war on Israel, and the Iranians need our support and help to overthrow an abusive regime.

I take your point. But the fact is that the left in the UK generally aligns against Israel and against the US. Which means the left generally opposing Israel whatever the circumstances and generally opposing the US even if its actions help to bring down a disgusting regime like Iran’s.

One ought to use ‘left’ and ‘right’ with a bit of care, certainly, but the context will usually make things clear.

I trust Greta and her chums are sailing out to confront the Islamic regime and the Iranian National Guard and show their support for the incredibly brave, repressed people of Iran as we speak? When can we expect her tiktoks?

On the whole Left Fanboy tendency for the Iranian regime.

Palestinian writer John Aziz on Michel Foucault and how it's a sort of inverted Orientalism

https://johnaziz.substack.com/p/michel-foucault-and-the-islamic-revolution

Trump has announced that "help is on it's way" and told them to keep protesting, apparently.
While I can think of few groups more deserving of help, I'm pretty concerned as to how this "help" will play out both in the short term for the people of Iran and in the longer term geopolitical context.

There's reports via Jimmy Rishton and Terrorism analyst Kyle Worton that the US has actually shut down a radio station in Kuwait that was being used to broadcast non state info about Iran.

Also that JD Vance might use this as ok ever age to get a nuclear deal in place. So likely all talk from Trump for effect in negotiation

https://nitter.net/JimmySecUK/status/2011096854306619870#m

https://nitter.net/Osint613/status/2010797910938812529#m

Her head's in a spin from the confusion of it all.

I get your point but I would see you as "traditional left" - interested in bettering the position of ordinary working people through unions, better public services, health and safety etc.

Whereas the "modern left" is more interested in identity politics.

How dare Trump tell people in Iran to keep protesting. People's lives are at risk. It's up to them if they take that risk!

Yes, totally. I am traditional, pro family, pro community, pro local, working class, immigrant background old school socialist.
I couldn’t give a flying fuck about identity politics I care about peoples real lives. I wish we as a country could focus on what really matters.
It’s so depressing, going back to the Iran thing, that morality and humanity seems to be coming second to virtue signalling and arse covering, or picking sides like it’s football. People are being massacred in Iran, in Syria. Theres so much fear from our government to stand up to these extremists.

I wouldn't hold your breath. Incredibly brave Iranians being slaughtered doesn't even register for some.

Shows EXACTLY who and what they are.