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Iran's authorities reopen wounds of 2019 deadly crackdown

One and a half years after they crushed the November 2019 protests with an iron fist, Iranian authorities are not just dodging responsibility, but they are also adding insult to injury.

Iranians holding national flags and pictures of the Islamic republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part in a pro-government demonstration in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019, to condemn days of "rioting" that Iran blames on its foreign foes. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran raised the price of petrol by up to 200%, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions.
Iranians holding national flags and pictures of the Islamic Republic's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, take part in a pro-government demonstration in the capital, Tehran's, central Enghelab Square on Nov. 25, 2019, to condemn days of "rioting" that Iran blames on its foreign foes. In a shock announcement 10 days ago, Iran raised the price of petrol by up to 200%, triggering nationwide protests in a country whose economy has been battered by US sanctions. — ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

The Iranian public's rage at the state-led crackdown on fuel price hike protests in November 2019 has only accumulated over the past 18 months, as authorities refuse to come clean or release any official report into the killings and abuses.

A series of inflammatory comments and decisions by Iranian officials over the past week seems to have further intensified the fury. The topic reentered the public sphere after Iran's security chief, Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani, found himself in one of the most embarrassing situations in his political and military career, in which he had to deny a comment he had allegedly made in the heat of the unrest and during a private conversation with Mahmoud Sadeghi, an outspoken Reformist figure and lawmaker at the time.

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