Iran

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

The first in a series of podcasts on the history of modern Iran

Iran: 1906-1941 w/ Eskandar Sadeghi & Golnar Nikpour

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran, from 1906 through the present. This episode is the first in a four-part series, covering the period from 1906 until 1941, from the Constitutional Revolution that imposed constitutional limits on the Qajar dynasty...

thedigradio.com

This episode is the first in a four-part series on the history of modern Iran, from 1906 through the present. This episode covers the period from 1906 until 1941, from the Constitutional Revolution that imposed constitutional limits on the Qajar dynasty through the 1921 coup that brought to power Reza Khan—who then in 1925 deposed the Qajars and became Reza Shah, the first shah of the Pahlavi dynasty. We end just before the 1941 occupation of Iran by longtime imperial powers, Britain and the Soviet Union, which forced Reza Shah out and replaced him with his son, Muhammad Reza Shah—which is where we will pick up in episode two.

 

[zahir]

From Borzou Daragahi

At least seven people, including two children, were killed after Friday prayers in Iran's Zahedan today, a Baluchistan human rights activist tells me. Another 50 people were wounded, and security forces won't allow some to be transferred to hospitals

eta:

Iran regime ‘shoots dead worshippers after prayers’ in Zahedan

Violence marks second alleged massacre against ethnic Baluch minority in less than a month

www.independent.co.uk

 

[weltweit]

It all sounds pretty grim.

I wonder what needs to happen for the protesters to prevail?
Perhaps some of the army to switch sides or the police?

 

[zahir]

This radio interview with Borzou Daragahi is one of the better assessments of the protests that I've come across.

Media Roundtable: Anti-government protests in Iran spread amid deadly crackdown

www.kalw.org

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

Translations of statements from the Council for Organising Protests by Oil Contract Workers and the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate

As Protests Continue, Workers Strike in Iran

As the protest movement in Iran develops, we publish here a few more translations of recent statements from the Council for Organising Protests by Oil Contract Workers and the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate. Their decision to go on strike has inevitably been met with repression by the...

www.leftcom.org

In such a situation, where our children and the oppressed people are on the streets, in a situation where the school and university and the street have become a bastion of struggle, where we are witnessing strikes by teachers and various other sections of the workers, the hope has sprung up that workers can create their own independent organisations, since without their own organisation, the workers cannot hold out against the scheming and designs of the class enemies. We don't want to keep repeating the necessity of organising because the workers are aware of this, the key point is that we should be able to learn from the current situation and use the opportunities that have arisen and take steps in the path of organising.

On the anniversary of the establishment of its independent organisation, the Haft Tappeh Sugarcane Workers’ Syndicate has this message: by our own strength we can stand against all oppressors and exploiters and create labour organisations independent from the government, employer and parties. It is appropriate to mention the courage of the oppressed men and women who have never stopped fighting to achieve their wishes and demands for their rights, and despite the atmosphere of repression, killings and imprisonment, they are still present in the middle of struggle.

Today, the street, the school and the university are tied together. Beyond the strikes and support of the workers that have been sporadic until now, there is the hope that the workers, as a class, through inclusive and nationwide strikes, can play their historical role in directing and uniting the street protests, in order to herald emancipation from oppression and exploitation. Salute to the conscious and militant girls and boys who shook the world with the slogan of "Woman, Life, Freedom!" Salute to the workers and toilers, women and men who fight for emancipation, with the slogan of "Bread, Jobs, Freedom – Soviet Power!" Thus, forward to their destiny and to stop allowing opportunists and exploiters to take charge over their fate once again.

eta: I think there might be a question here as to what is being translated as "Soviet Power".

 

[zahir]

I wonder what needs to happen for the protesters to prevail?
Perhaps some of the army to switch sides or the police?

I wouldn't necessarily pay much attention to Reza Pahlavi but it's interesting that he made an appeal to the army:

Pahlavi said, "The army is the guardian of the country and the border, but today there is a situation where the internal enemy is shooting at the people... the military forces should be a shield for the defenseless people." The exiled prince added that people will accept the security forces, noting that "People say that we do not intend to take revenge and we will accept you, but you should join us and not defend the system." Iran's traditional army (Artesh) has been kept in a weak position by the Islamic Republic and is controlled by officiers from the revolutionary Guard (IRGC). Still, many hope that one day the army might come to the defense of protesters and stop the IRGC and other regime forces from using military and brutal force against the people.

From an article by Borzou Daragahi early on in the protests:

Iran’s army threatened violence against widespread and growing anti-regime protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini as the country’s president arrived home following a trip to the United Nations. “The army is ready to defend the security and interests of the Iranian nation against the conspiracies of the enemies,” said the army’s statement. “The army personnel fully support their comrades in the police forces, and are ready to deal with the various plots of the enemies.” The warning came as protesters were preparing on Friday for an eighth straight night of street battles with security forces.

Some Iranians were hoping that the army would stay out of the political fray. But the regular armed forces have increasingly come under the control of the Revolutionary Guard. The army played a role in violently suppressing 2019 protests over prices and water shortages in the southwest. Its statement against the demonstrators on Friday marks the further erosion of the institution’s image as an independent entity.

I'm sure there is opposition to the regime within the army though.

 

[zahir]

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Will Never Stand Down

The biggest obstacle to regime change is a security force designed to protect the regime to the point of civil war.

foreignpolicy.com

The success or failure of the current movement in engendering change in Iran could depend on any number of factors, but the primary obstacle standing in the protesters’ way is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the 1979 revolution’s most potent offspring. In that earlier revolution, it was the Iranian military’s decision to declare neutrality and stand down that signaled the end of the Pahlavi dynasty, setting Iran on a new course. The IRGC, by contrast, was designed precisely to stand with the regime no matter what—even if that means standing against the people.

The more violence low-ranking troops are asked to commit against their fellow citizens, the more likely the resolve of those troops is to waver. Even though the top brass of Iran’s security forces has benefited handsomely from the current system, rank-and-file troops have not. Their risk calculus is entirely different from their commanders, and their loyalties to the system are more vulnerable and more likely to be tested the more they are asked to murder and maim in the name of the supreme leader. The Islamic Republic has had no compunction about killing its own people, as its long track record of oppression attests. But when the enemy is your daughter or niece or sister or cousin, the reality of the situation cannot be escaped. In order to win, the regime must go to war against young women and teenage girls. That’s not a war it can win. And it probably knows it.

 

[teqniq]

Arseholes:

Iran accuses journalists who reported Mahsa Amini’s death of spying for CIA

Spying charge levelled at Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi carries death penalty as Tehran seeks to suppress running protests

www.theguardian.com

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

Breaking down gender segregation

 

[hash tag]

Mehrshad Shahidi murdered by security forces It's difficult to know where to start with these regimes.

A teenage chef called "Jamie Oliver of Iran" is battered to death, sparking more uproar

A teenager called the "Jamie Oliver of Iran" was allegedly battered to death by security forces, sparking a second wave of protests following the

tdpelmedia.com

 

[zahir]

Universities in Iran today

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

Iran Rearrests Popular Protest Rapper Salehi

Authorities in Iran have arrested Toomaj Salehi, a rapper who has gained fans among Iranians who are angry at the country’s Islamic esta ...

iranwire.com

Thread:

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

This is in Saqqez:

How reliable is that Twitter account? That seems like a very big deal if true, but I'm wary about believing Twitter hearsay.

See this thread for confirmation that people took refuge in the army barracks.

Hengaw report on the incidents of October 26 in Saqqez and the army's response to the IRGC soldiers' direct attacks on the populace

hengaw.net

"We didn't know what to do, so we turned back and asked for help from the army soldiers who were watching. The slogan "the army! support support" were chanted by the people. We went to the barracks and the houses of the army on both sides of the road. The soldiers opened the door and helped us and gave us water. We told them to help us. None of them had weapons," said the eyewitness, who wants his identity to stay unknown.

Hengaw received consistent accounts of the incident from a wide number of witnesses. We obtained a large number of documents from the informants and witnesses, including writings, audio recordings, and videos, which demonstrate the incident's veracity in response to the legal team's request. It is evident that after the IRGC began firing and the crowd dispersed as a result of the massive volumes of tear gas used against them, the army forces opened the doors for the people on both sides of the street, where they sought refuge. The army has provided instructions on how to securely exit organizational buildings and travel to different districts while avoiding an IRGC ambush.

The impact of the bullets also results in several injuries. Hengaw was informed by one of the witnesses that the army had shown the people the locations of the minefields and cautioned them not to enter certain areas. The armed forces' lack of weaponry on October 26 has been confirmed by numerous witnesses. People who called for the army's assistance were informed by a number of army troops that "the 228th Saqqez Brigade's armory was entirely controlled by the IRGC and no weapons were handed over to them on the day of the incident." The legal team for Hengaw believes that the army's actions on the day of the incident were largely humane. Therefore, the 228th Mobile Assault Brigade of the Army cannot be considered to be giving help in the legal sense by only providing refuge to the residents of Saqqez. Additionally, it is impossible to definitively establish why the 228th Brigade's armory was blocked on the mentioned day.

 

[zahir]

Iranians hold large rallies in defiance of warning by Revolutionary Guards head

Raids on student campuses spark protests despite threats made by chief of security force that unrest must stop

www.theguardian.com

 

[zahir]

.

 

[Dystopiary]

This artist called Shabnam made a beautiful illustration to compliment Shervin Hajipour's song Beraye ("Because" or "For"):

At first, when Shervin's song came on, I couldn't listen to it because my brain was filled with thousands of sad images that were too much for him. I decided to draw some of them, but everything I drew was never finished.

[Alt text: Video starts with someone burning her hijab on a fire, then zooms into scenes of people with fists raised, a family in despair, poverty, crying at a graveside, destruction, sadness, hope, and finally the stylised written Persian symbol of Woman, Life, Freedom in green, red and white, before zooming back out through the scenes to the woman burning her hijab on the fire.]

 

[zahir]

Borzou Daragahi's report on the current crackdown

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard steps up efforts to crush hijab protests

Powerful branch of armed forces menaces protesters with threats of violence and jail

www.independent.co.uk

 

[Nikkormat]

The first in a series of podcasts on the history of modern Iran

Iran: 1906-1941 w/ Eskandar Sadeghi & Golnar Nikpour

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran, from 1906 through the present. This episode is the first in a four-part series, covering the period from 1906 until 1941, from the Constitutional Revolution that imposed constitutional limits on the Qajar dynasty...

thedigradio.com

Listening to this now. Thanks for posting it.

Thanks, zahir, for your updates on this thread. So much going on in the world, it's useful to have this thread to keep track.

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

 

[zahir]

Under increasing pressure at home, Iran lashes out at rivals abroad

Reports accuse Iran of plotting attacks against Saudi and US targets in the Middle East as tensions rise

www.independent.co.uk

Analysts say the attempt at placing blame on outsiders for Iran’s domestic woes is meant to shore up support among regime loyalists. “They are building up a case for their own supporters that foreign enemies have a direct hand on the ground for what is happening with the protests,” said Ellie Geranmayeh, an Iran expert at the European Council on Foreign Relations, a think tank. “That is not going to work with the protesters or with the general public, but it is aimed at ensuring that there is an external threat to keep the security apparatus loyal to them.”

 

[zahir]

The first in a series of podcasts on the history of modern Iran

Iran: 1906-1941 w/ Eskandar Sadeghi & Golnar Nikpour

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran, from 1906 through the present. This episode is the first in a four-part series, covering the period from 1906 until 1941, from the Constitutional Revolution that imposed constitutional limits on the Qajar dynasty...

thedigradio.com

The second podcast in the series

Iran, 1941-1953: Tudeh, Mosaddegh, Oil, and the CIA-MI6 Coup

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the second episode in our four-part series. We begin in 1941 with the British-Soviet occupation of Iran, the ouster of Reza Shah and his replacement by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. We continue with...

thedigradio.com

Featuring Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi and Golnar Nikpour on the history of modern Iran. This is the second episode in our four-part series. We begin in 1941 with the British-Soviet occupation of Iran, the ouster of Reza Shah and his replacement by his son, Mohammad Reza Shah. We continue with the rise of the Tudeh communist party, the nationalization of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, Mohammad Mosaddegh’s National Party coming to power, and the 1953 US-British coup that overthrew Mosaddegh and reinstalled Mohammad Reza Shah as dictator. His brutal reign continued until the 1979 Islamic Revolution, which is where we will pick up in episode three.