Protests have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini died on Sept. 16 while being held for \u2018inappropriate attire\u2019
\nDUBAI
\nIranian security forces intensified a crackdown on anti-government protests in several Kurdish cities on Monday, social media posts and videos showed, pressing efforts to quell unrest ignited by the death of a woman in morality police custody.
\nProtests have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old from Iran\u2019s Kurdish region, died on Sept. 16 while being held for \u201cinappropriate attire\u201d, marking one of the boldest challenges to the Islamic Republic since the 1979 revolution.
\nWhile university students have played a pivotal role in the protests with dozens of universities on strike, unconfirmed reports on social media showed workers at Abadan and Kangan oil refineries and the Bushehr Petrochemical Project had joined in.
\nAn oil ministry spokesperson did not immediately reply to a phone call from Reuters seeking comment.
\nA combination of mass protests and strikes by oil workers and Bazaar merchants helped to sweep the clergy to power in the Iranian revolution four decades ago.
\nTensions have been especially high between authorities and the Kurdish minority which human rights groups say has long been oppressed – a charge the Islamic Republic denies.
\nHuman rights group Hengaw reported a heavy presence of armed security forces in the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj, Saqez and Divandareh on Monday. It said at least five Kurdish residents were killed and over 150 injured in protests since Saturday.
\nVideos shared on social media showed protests in dozens of cities across Iran early on Monday, with fierce clashes between protesters and riot police in cities and towns across Amini\u2019s native Kurdistan province.
\nThe Iranian authorities have blamed the violence on an array of enemies including armed Iranian Kurdish dissidents, with the Revolutionary Guards attacking their bases in neighbouring Iraq a number of times during the latest unrest.
\nIran has a track record of putting down unrest among its more than 10 million Kurds, part of a Kurdish minority whose aspirations for autonomy have also led to conflicts with authorities in Turkey, Iraq and Syria.
\nHeavy gunfire could be heard in several videos shared on Twitter by the activist 1500tasvir. A video showed several explosions creating blinding flashes in a neighbourhood of Sanandaj, the capital of the Kurdistan province.
\nActivists said on social media that several people, including two teenagers, were killed by security forces in the province. Reuters could not verify the videos and posts.
\n\u2018Ready to die\u2019
\nAt least 185 people, including 19 minors, have been killed, hundreds injured and thousands have been arrested by security forces, according to rights groups. Blaming the protests on Iran\u2019s foreign foes, authorities said \u201crioters\u201d have killed at least 20 members of the security forces.
\nIn spite of a harsh crackdown by security forces, protesters across Iran have burned pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called for the downfall of the clerical establishment and chanted \u201cDeath to the Dictator\u201d.
\nHundreds of high-school girls and university students have joined the nationwide protests, unfazed by teargas, clubs, and, in many cases, live ammunition used by the security forces, rights groups said. Tehran has denied that live bullets have been used.
\n\u201cHey world, hear me: I want a revolution. I want to live freely and I am ready to die for it,\u201d said a 17-year-old protester in a central Iranian city, whose name and location could not be revealed by Reuters due to security concerns.
\n\u201cInstead of dying every minute under this regime\u2019s repression, I prefer to die with their (security forces) bullets in protests for freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Protests have swept Iran since Mahsa Amini died on Sept. 16 while being held for \u2018inappropriate attire\u2019 DUBAI Iranian security forces intensified a crackdown on anti-government protests in several Kurdish cities on Monday, social media posts and videos showed, pressing efforts to quell unrest ignited by the death of a woman in morality police custody. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":288538,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-288513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n