Massive Protests Erupt in Iran’s Khuzestan Province and Spread in the Face of Regime’s Murderous Response
| revcom.us
On July 15, massive protests erupted in Khuzestan Province in southwestern Iran over a dire lack of water, as well as widespread poverty and the national oppression of Iran’s Arab population, which is concentrated in Khuzestan. Iran’s reactionary Islamic Republic responded viciously, with live gunfire, beatings, mass arrests and other brutality to quell the protests. At least eight protesters have been killed and many more wounded.
In the face of this, anger has grown and as of July 24, defiant protests have continued and spread to at least 30 other cities and different sections of society. Iran’s authorities have disrupted the Internet to hide the true scale of the protests and state violence and to limit the spread of resistance. All this has sharpened the contradictions between the regime and the Iranian people broadly. Protesters reportedly shouted, “We are thirsty for water. They are thirsty for our blood,” in referring to the regime’s brutal response. And there have been fierce and fearless resistance against the regime’s armed forces in some places.
Revcom.us will be following these rapidly unfolding events and writing more in the future.
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