The just and inspiring uprising of the Iranian people is entering its fourth week. This mass, nationwide rebellion was sparked by the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa (“Jina”) Amini on September 16. She had supposedly violated the Islamic Republic of Iran’s medieval dress code because some of her hair wasn’t fully covered by a scarf.
Mahsa’s murder unleashed the rage of millions against the whole regime and its oppressive patriarchy and theocracy. Since then, not a day has gone by without hundreds of thousands of Iranians—especially women—demonstrating with great courage and daring to chant “Death to the Dictator” and “Woman, Life, Freedom!”
Regime Responds with Mass Bloodshed, Beatings, Imprisonment
Not a day has gone by without the Islamic Republic demonstrating its inhuman brutality and its total illegitimacy. A new report identifies possibly 200 killed by the Islamic Republic in 20 days of protest, among them 18 teens and children, and estimates 5,500 have been arrested.
At least 82 protesters were shot down in the oppressed southeastern region of Baluchistan (close to Pakistan and Afghanistan) including 66 killed after a worship service. The regime is bombing the oppressed people in Kurdistan, where Mahsa is from and where there have been widespread protests. And it is shooting live ammunition at unarmed demonstrators across Iran.1
Students, Women and Other Protesters Defy the Crackdown
Widespread protests and resistance are continuing in spite of the Islamic Republic’s bloody crackdown, and hatred for the whole regime is spreading.
High schools, colleges and universities are back in school and student protests are widespread—on at least 26 university campuses on October 4 alone. Students chanted “Jailed students should be freed,” “We will fight, We will take Iran back.”2 One student protester declared: "They can kill us, arrest us but we will not remain silent anymore. Our classmates are in jail. How can we remain silent?”3
On Saturday, October 8, there were large protests in Tehran and many other cities across Iran.
Young women students have demonstrated great courage and daring. On October 8, Iran’s President Raisi went to the all-girls Alzahra University in Tehran to badmouth the protesters, calling them “rioters” and comparing them to flies. But the women and girls weren’t intimated! They chanted “Raisi get lost” and “Cannons! Tanks! Firecrackers! Clerics must get lost!” right at him. At other schools they’ve torn down pictures of Iran’s founder Ayatollah Khomeini and shouted down regime speakers.4
Resistance is continuing from inside prison. Women political prisoners held a sit-down protest in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, and several of them have written a moving open letter in solidarity with other protests.
A state streaming TV source in Iran was hacked by Edalat-e Ali on Saturday. A video of it shows a news program featuring ruling clerics including Supreme Leader Khameini—which is suddenly interrupted by a picture of Khameini in flames, with pictures of Mahsa and other murdered women below and the message “Join Us & Rise UP! The blood of our youths is dripping from your claws.”
America’s Phony Concern for Human Rights—A Hypocritical Tool to Maneuver for Imperialist Advantage
Last week, President Biden tweeted, “The United States stands with Iranian women and Iranian citizens” and says he’s going to punish the Islamic Republic with more sanctions.
As we analyzed last week, the truth is that the U.S. rulers are maneuvering to advance their own imperialist interests in the Middle East and globally, including by subverting the Iranian people’s struggle and restoring outright U.S. domination of Iran. This must not be allowed!
People need to proceed from the interests of humanity, not the interests of either the reactionary U.S. imperialists or the reactionary Islamic Republic. We must support the current uprising in Iran and fight to bring forward another way to a radically different and much better world. A good way to begin is by reading and spreading the new Statement by the Revcoms and REVOLUTION NOTHING LESS! from the Communist Party of Iran-Marxist-Leninist-Maoist.