“The Iranian people have failed the foreign enemies’ project of unrest and media warfare,” Raisi said in a televised speech. This neutralized another foreign-controlled conspiracy and won another victory for the revolution. It is therefore hardly surprising that the state-organized rallies in many cities across the country were held in favor of the Islamic Republic system – state media reported on actions in 1,400 cities.
In Tehran alone, thousands upon thousands of people marched to Freedom Square on foot and waving flags, chanting slogans like “Down with the US,” “Down with Israel,” and “Down with Britain.” Some people also carried portraits of supreme spiritual leader Ali Khamenei or President Raisi. Once again, he accused foreign countries – namely the USA – of having controlled and financed the protests in order to stop progress in Iran.
According to Raisi, foreign representations of the role of women in Iran are simply wrong. Women are free and represented in all top positions, but unlike in the West they are “not marketed as objects”. In addition, in Iran, the focus is on the family and not on issues such as homosexuality. “This[homosexuality]nullifies the status of the family and ultimately erases the human generation,” the cleric said.
However, the online stream of the President’s televised speech was interrupted: for about a minute the logo of a group of openly anti-government hackers called “Edalat Ali (Justice of Ali)” was visible. A voice shouted “Death to the Islamic Republic”. In the speech, Raisi advised the country’s “deceived youth” to repent so they could be pardoned by the supreme leader.
Protests continue in many forms
In fact, the reality in Iran is generally different from what Raisi portrays. Although there are fewer street demonstrations, the protests continue in other forms. Among other things, an increasing number of women are ignoring the headscarf requirement in public, and thus the Islamic regulations. In addition, there are increasing calls for a constitutional amendment and a referendum to determine the country’s new political course.
The Raisi government is also caught up in the worst economic crisis in the country’s history. The national currency, the rial, has continued to depreciate sharply and there is currently no sign of an improvement in the situation. Because of the violent crackdown on the protesters, further sanctions were imposed on the theocracy, which further sealed off the already internationally isolated country.
In February 1979, an uprising led by the revolutionary leader and Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini led to the collapse of the monarchy. The Iranian national holiday commemorates the fall of the Shah after Khomeini’s return from exile. In the past two years, the celebrations had largely taken place in motorcades due to the pandemic conditions.
Although this year was widely organized by the state, the anniversary falls at a time of angry protests. These were initially directed against the Islamic headscarf requirement within the framework of a women’s movement, but then against the entire Islamic system. Protesters and Iranian opposition at home and abroad are demanding secular democracy in place of the theocratic rule of the past four decades.
According to human rights NGOs, more than 500 people have been killed and almost 20,000 protesters arrested since the protests began in September 2022. On the anniversary of the revolution, Iran’s head of state Khamenei pardoned tens of thousands of prisoners. Among them are said to be protesters who were arrested during the most recent wave of demonstrations.
