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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. 
A picture obtained by AFP outside Iran, reportedly shows a garbage container on fire in the capital Tehran on October 8, 2022. - Iran has been torn by the biggest wave of social unrest in almost three years, which has seen protesters, including university students and even young schoolgirls chant "Woman, Life, Freedom". (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

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.  

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