Scary. This is how the last few days in Iran can be described. Numerous shops, as well as restaurants and the traditional bazaars, remained closed from Monday to Wednesday – in more than fifty cities. Both the capital Tehran and the cities of Isfahan, Shiraz and Tabriz looked like ghost towns. Public life came to a complete standstill.
The New York Times reports the “biggest general strike in decades”. “This unit is remarkable,” says an anonymous restaurant owner from Isfahan. The action gave those who did not participate in the protests a chance to show their solidarity.
An anonymous taxi driver from Tehran also says: “We all have to make sacrifices.” Young people would have given their blood and their lives in this revolution. “I do the minimum.”
“The regime’s concessions make little sense”
Since the death of Mahsa Amini († 22) during an operation by the vice squad, people have taken to the streets. At first it was mainly women who rebelled against the compulsory headscarf, but now all layers of the population are demanding the fall of the regime. According to Iran expert Mahdi Rezaei-Tazik (39) of the University of Bern, the regime’s recent concessions to withdraw the vice squad have not yielded much. “The protests will continue,” Rezaei-Tazik told Blick.
The demonstrators would not be intimidated by the regime’s crackdown, which includes shooting at crowds during demonstrations or accepting the death of children. Rezaei-Tazik: “People want a democracy in which religion and state are separate.”
Even Badri Hosseini Khamenei, the sister of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (83), supports the protest movement. Her son recently published a letter in Paris condemning the “despotic” leadership, as reported by “Der Spiegel”. The letter was also published on Twitter in several languages. “I hope to see the fall of this tyranny soon,” it said.
“The regime brings nothing but suffering and oppression”
Badri Hosseini Khamenei accuses the government of bringing only suffering and oppression to the Iranians. She also calls on the Revolutionary Guards to lay down their arms and join the protest.
Iran expert Rezaei-Tazik says part of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s family has always been against him. “But the sister’s expression in this form is a drastic step.” It is a huge blow to the regime. “This is the greatest crisis of all time.” And in a fundamental way, as far as its existence is concerned.