Iran protesters torch Soleimani monument as crackdown intensifies
Amid renewed protests six months into the unrest, the Iranian establishment's heavy-handed response appeared to have failed to bridge its widening gap with the disillusioned public.
TEHRAN — The Iranian government made nationwide arrests on Monday and Tuesday following more protests marking the Chaharshanbe Suri, the ancient festival of fire that falls on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year on the Persian calendar.
Videos posted by activists on social media showed litter bins on fire amid chants of "women, life, freedom" in the southern districts of the capital, Tehran, in the southeastern flashpoint city of Zahedan and in several Kurdish cities, where security forces had been deployed en masse.
مگر میشود دیلان آزادی را ندید؟
— Omid Barin | امید برین (@barin_omid) March 14, 2023
کرمانشاه - کرند#زن_زندگی_آزادی#ژینا_امینی#کردستان pic.twitter.com/09LvazIllv
Opposition activist collective 1500 Tasvir released photos it said had been sent from Iranians preparing Molotov cocktails to target government and military buildings. The footage went viral of a monument of slain Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani in the city of Zanjan burning in flames after being hit with one such weapon.
