Protesters in Zahedan and Izeh Call out Iran Regime’s Plots and Oppression
Written by
Mansoureh Galestan
iran-zahedan-uprising-21102022
On Friday, despite the regime’s severe crackdown, Iranians in Sistan and Baluchistan province held their protest, keeping the fire of the nationwide uprising aflame. Locals in Baluchistan again chanted popular slogans of the ongoing uprising, on its 135th day, such as “Death to [Ali] Khamenei”, “down with the oppressor, be it Shah or the Supreme Leader,” and “Our tables are empty; Khamenei is a criminal.”
They once again demonstrated the democratic nature of the revolution in the making by rejecting both religious fascism and the deposed Shah’s dictatorship.
Protesters also held signs rejecting the regime’s plot and efforts to misguide the uprising, painting protesters in this southeastern province as separationists. such as the recent pathetic campaign led by the former regime’s TV host and celebrities-turned dissidents, naming the son of the former dictator Reza Pahlavi as their leader and “advocate” and the authorities’ efforts. The Baluchi protesters’ signs read: “We do not need an individual as our advocate” and “If Kurds and Baluchies were separationists, they weren’t fighting for Iran.”
January 27 – Zahedan, southeast #Iran
People are in streets protesting and chanting "Death to Khamenei!"
Their placard rejects any return to the Shah's dictatorship or a monarchical rule.#IranRevolution #مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چە_شاە_باشه_چە_رهبر pic.twitter.com/pUK9gSwtIC— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 27, 2023
It is worth noting that Reza Pahlavi, who defends his father’s and grandfather’s heritages, has repeatedly acknowledged having close contact with the regime’s Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) while rejecting any sort of radical form of dissent.
In an interview in 2018, he said, “I am in bilateral contacts with the (regime’s) military, the IRGC, and the Basij. We are communicating. They are signaling their preparation and express willingness to align with the people.”
Due to the dark record of his father and grandfather, and his own connections with the regime’s oppressive forces, Reza Pahlavi is despised by Iranians, mainly the ethnic minorities who suffered immensely at the hands of the Pahlavi dictatorships. Thus, in all of their protests, protesters in Sistan & Baluchistan reject any return to that vicious dictatorship by chanting slogans such as “death to the oppressor, be it Shah or Supreme Leader.”
Friday’s protest happened despite the regime’s numerous efforts to intimidate the public by establishing many roadblocks and checkpoints at the cities’ entrances, namely the province’s capital, Zahedan. The protests erupted a day after locals in Izeh, southwest Iran continued their demonstrations. Locals in Izeh honored two Iran protest martyrs, Hossein Saidi and Mahmoud Ahmadi, on the fortieth day of their martyrdom, vowing to continue their path.
January 27 – Izeh, southwest #Iran
People are gathering at a ceremony for Saeed Saeedi, a protester killed by the regime's security forces during the recent protests.#IranRevolution #مرگ_بر_ستمگر_چە_شاە_باشه_چە_رهبر pic.twitter.com/n7CLN4mHSY— People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) (@Mojahedineng) January 27, 2023
In Izeh, brave locals chanted anti-regime slogans and expressed their solidarity with the risen people in Sistan & Baluchistan by saying, “From Zahedan to Izeh, the country bleeds.” This slogan was first chanted by locals in Zahedan when regime forces opened fire on protesters in Izeh during the first days of uprisings, rejecting the regime’s bogus claims that Iranians in Sistan & Baluchistan are seeking separation.
The core message of protests in Zahedan and Izeh is the Iranian people’s willingness to topple the regime at any cost in the fifth month of their uprising. Those protests have caused the regime’s various plots to misguide the regime revolution in the making fall flat on the mullahs’ faces. The Iranian people seek democracy and freedom, and they want to put an end to a century of dictatorship and inequality.
The world community should also recognize the Iranian people’s desire to establish a democratic country by cutting all ties with the regime, recognize the IRGC as a terrorist organization for its role in oppressing people and exporting terrorism, and recognize the Iranian people’s right to self-defense and revolt against tyranny.