On Tuesday, protests continued across Iran for the fourth day in a row, and authorities said that three people had died as a result of the disturbance following the death of a young woman in police custody.
Mahsa Amini, 22, who was killed last week after being detained by morality police for wearing “unsuitable apparel,” sparked a wave of long-simmering resentment over a variety of subjects, including rights, security, and a country’s economy that is suffering as a result of international sanctions.
Since street fights over water shortages last year, this is some of Iran’s worst unrest. The Iranian administration claims that unnamed terrorists and foreign agents are to blame for the carnage.
An assistant to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed sympathy to Amini’s family and said that Khamenei was saddened and distressed by her passing in an apparent attempt to ease tensions.
Abdolreza Pourzahabi, Khamenei’s envoy in the Kurdistan province, reportedly said when visiting Amini’s family home there: “All institutions will take action to defend the rights that were violated.”
Pourzahabi stated, “As I promised to Ms. Amini’s family, I will likewise pursue the matter of her death until a resolution.
Amini passed away while she waited with other women being detained by the morality police, who in the Islamic Republic enforce severe laws mandating that women cover their hair and wear baggy clothing in public.
She had no medical issues, according to her father, who also said she had bruises on her legs while being held in detention. He blames the police for her passing.
On Monday and Tuesday, protests began in Kurdistan and extended to a number of other regions in northwest Iran.
Tuesday night, state media reported “limited gatherings” in a number of locations, during which protesters allegedly screamed anti-government chants, hurled rocks at police cars, and harmed public property.
Videos that were allegedly released on social media sites on Tuesday claimed to show protests taking place throughout Iran, including in a number of areas that had previously been spared from the upheaval.
