Iran unrest intensifies as anti-regime protests sweep major cities

CALGARY — As the national unrest in Iran continues, it has been reported that tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Bojnord, Iran’s second-largest city, overwhelming government forces in demonstrations demanding the return of the Pahlavi monarchy.Chants of “This is the final battle; Pahlavi will return” echoed across the city as anti-Islamist-regime demonstrators rallied against government forces.The anti-regime demonstrations, have also been reported across dozens of cities in multiple provinces in recent weeks and have seen dozens of people killed so far. The protests started on Dec. 28, when shopkeepers in Tehran’s Grand Bazaar shuttered their businesses in anger over the collapse of Iran’s rial currency.The economic downturn, exacerbated by sanctions from western nations and mismanagement by the Iranian government, pushed unemployment to 7.5%..The recent assassination of Mahmoud Haqiqat, commander of the police station in Iranshahr and former head of the city’s intelligence department, responsible for cracking down on anti-regime groups, highlights the rising tensions across the country.US President Donald Trump issued a stark warning last week that Tehran would face consequences if it “violently killedpeaceful protesters,” stating that the United States was “locked and loaded and ready to go.”Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also showed support for the demonstrators, telling ministers that “it is quite possible that we are at a moment when the Iranian people are taking their fate into their own hands.”Iranian authorities have since responded.Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei promised not to “yield to the enemy” following Trump’s comments, with Chief Justice Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei accusing the United States and Israel of fomenting chaos, stating that there would be “no leniency for those who help the enemy against the Islamic Republic.”.Pentagon defends Iran nuclear strike damage amid media criticism.Al Jazeera reports that while the Iranian state has not released official casualty figures, government forces have violently clamped down on anti-regime demonstrators, with human rights group HRANA reporting at least 36 deaths, and at least 2,076 arrests so far.The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) claimed on Tuesday that the cities of Abdanan and Malekshahi were effectively "taken over" by protesters."Today there was a major development in two cities in western Iran that have been effectively taken over, and people are actually celebrating in the streets," Ali Safavi, a member of the NCRI, told Fox News.“They were chanting, ‘Death to Khamenei!’”"Despite everything the regime has done, the fear factor seems to have shifted because people have made the suppressive forces flee," Safavi said.

Iran unrest intensifies as anti-regime protests sweep major cities

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