MASS PROTESTS CONTINUE IN IRAN: Islamic Center Torched – Protesters Shot – Iranians Chant: “Neither threats, nor prison have any power over us anymore!”

Fighting continues into day 6 and holding. Iran Updates for Wednesday, November 20th.

By Editors of The Free Iran Herald 

Now bringing you daily updates on the events unfolding in Iran

Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Khomeinist Regime’s Supreme National Security Council

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of the Khomeinist regime has threatened Iranian protesters and said:”Every single protester in Iran, wherever they are, will be identified and will pay for their actions.”

The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps woke up this morning to more bad news about attacks from all sides. Other than the ongoing protests against them, in Iraq and Lebanon, now they are under a barrage of protests that is spreading all across Iran. The Iranian people that they have long been trampling and terrorizing have now entered day 6 of another wave of nationwide protests. This time however, the IRGC and its proxies which are usually on site to quash protesters, are spread thin throughout Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Iran. 

To make things worst on Wednesday morning, Israel resourcefully launch airstrikes on their positions in Syria. 16 IRGC personnel were killed during the overnight bombings. The attacks came in response to the firing of four missiles from Syrian territory toward Israel at dawnon Wednesday. The Iron Dome anti-aircraft system destroyed all of these rockets before they could enter Israeli airspace. An Israeli military spokesman confirmed the attack on 20 Quds Force positions on Syrian soil but did not expound on the extent of the damage.

One of the areas attacked was the security and military building at Damascus International Airport, the headquarters of the Quds Force on Syrian soil.

Khomeinist authorities block the internet and cut Iranians off from international communications

In Iran, as a result of the regime’s blockage on the internet, the transmission of news and information has dropped off. Iranians are now entirely unable to obtain reports from other cities inside Iran, let alone international bulletins. Those who have access to landlines with international dialing capabilities are calling friends, family and if lucky, they get through to Iranian media abroad to plead for assistance from global leaders to help provide them with web access.

118 people are said to have been killed in the city of Karaj, alone, yesterday, along with 36 in Tehran. The regime is refusing to release their bodies and declaring that family members of the deceased cannot recover their loved ones remains unless they pay $4,000 and sign a waiver agreeing not to protest in the future.

Four of the protesters who were killed and whose families continue to fight to take their remains for burial.

Unconfirmed reports claim that 7,000 people were arrested over the past five days.

Fighting is said to still be ongoing in Tehran, Shiraz, and Ahvaz, at the least.

The Mayor of Shiraz has told regime-controlled media that in one part of the city, all of the bus stops were destroyed. Tanks have also been seen patrolling the streets of Shiraz.

In the southwestern city of Kazeroun, protesters showed their hatred for the Khomeinist establishment by setting fire to the Islamic center and seminary in that town.

The below video from the southern Iranian port city of Mahshahr (bordering on Iraq), where the sound of the special guards machine gun fire opened on protesters can clearly be heard:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmUZggfHDvI

One man who participated in the night protests in Tehran last night, said: “there were clashes and protests in Vali Asr Square. Protesters were chanting, ‘The police are our disgrace.’ I saw with my own eyes that people torched two municipalities and the governor’s office. People of all ages were standing together chanting, ‘Down with dictatorship!’ and ‘mullahs must get out.’ Security forces killed a lot of protesters, but this did not deter the protesters. They really aren’t afraid of anything anymore.”

An eyewitness in Shiraz stated: “From November 16th until today, in regions like Ma’ali-Abad and Mollah-Sadra there has been intense fighting. Valfajr police station was taken over by protesters, who took all the weapons and guns. Protesters also torched many buildings in the area.”

Regime employees though, are also walking off their jobs to join the protestors; calling on other civil servants to do so as well.

Many supermarkets have been stormed and raided by people, most of whom are hungry and destitute from the pressures of life in Iran under a regime that has destroyed the nation’s economy over 40 years. Many in Iran as now malnourished due to the artificially high prices for commodities set by the corrupt regime authorities, who are also Iran’s big business owners.

In Paak-Dasht, protesters are fighting with the IRGC forces dispatched to the area, and it looks like a war zone, as young protesters stand their ground against the regime.

The regime tried to get counterdemonstrations going today but was forced to cancel a planned march in Tehran for fear that their own bought and paid for “extras” would turn against them. The most they were able to scare up was a small group of approximately 500 in Tabriz.

The US State Department is continuing to amplify the Iranian people’s call for restored Internet access. A large majority of Iranians are commenting on and welcoming the current American administration’s support versus the Obama White House, which turned its back on Iranians during the 2009 Green Movement; instead willingly stepping aside for the regime to muzzle their demands for their rights. That as most Iranians now note, was a calculated move by the Obama administration in order to pave the way for the JCPOA.

The Swedish Foreign Minister, Ann Linde, also condemned the repression. Iranian activists responded by pointing out her hypocrisy of calling herself a feminist who willingly dons the hejab while signing trade deals with the Islamic regime in 2017.

Meanwhile, six of the eight environmental activists who have been held on espionage charges since early last year were sentenced in a Tehran court today, to prison terms ranging from six to ten years, each.

This is a video made by Dame Jane Goodall on October 24th, who pleaded for mercy in the case of the eight environmentalists, which yet again, fell on deaf ears:

Sepideh Gholian, a political prisoner who had been released on bail on October 25th joined protesters on the streets yesterday. The 24-year-old journalist was arrested in November 2018 for her coverage of the labor protests, focusing on the workers’ strike at Haft Tappeh Sugar Cane factory, in Khuzestan. Gholian who had been brutally tortured went on hunger strike while in prison.

Though Gholian was awaiting to appeal her case and was still under surveillance by the regime’s judiciary, she bravely showed up to participate in the protests. Moments later Gholian was rearrested and taken into custody by the regime’s security forces. Her whereabouts are as of yet unknown.

Sepideh Gholian on October 24th, just after stepping out of the prison where she was held for almost one year.

In this video, Gholian is applauded and cheered by protesters who recognize her, calling her “the fearless one!” She chants: “Neither threats, nor prison have any power over us anymore.”

Also on Wednesday, the Pentagon announced:

Washington (AFP) – Despite decades of sanctions, Iran has succeeded in developing its missile arsenal, which is larger than that of any other Middle Eastern country including Israel, a Pentagon study said Tuesday.

“Iran has an extensive missile development program, and the size and sophistication of its missile force continues to grow despite decades of counterproliferation efforts aimed at curbing its advancement,” the Defense Intelligence Agency said.

Finally, Not all of the members of the international media have turned a willfully blind eye to the fateful events inside Iran. Chiming in with supportive tweets and sharp observations are journalists like Eli Lake who are some of the precious few decades-long Iran analysts who have shown a dedication to the facts and have reported much of what many others did not.

Finally, not all of the members of the international media have turned a willfully blind eye to the fateful events inside Iran. Chiming in with supportive and sharp observations are journalists like Eli Lake. 

 

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