Iran’s security forces are on high alert in anticipation of Thursday’s demonstrations marking 40 days since the start of the fuel protests, and remembering those who were killed by the regime. At least 1,500 people were killed in about two weeks last November by the various Iranian regime forces.
The Basij force, one of the five forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was ordered to be on 100% alert on Thursday starting at 10:00 AM. Suppressive forces on motorcycles and security personnel have deployed and are patrolling various streets and major intersections in Tehran, Karaj, Shiraz, and Shahryar.
Iranian authorities cut off phone and internet services to several parts of the country on Wednesday. An anonymous source cited by ILNA said mobile internet service had been shutdown on Wednesday in Alborz province outside Tehran, Shiraz, Kordestan and Zanjan, all volatile areas. “According to this source, it is possible that more provinces will be affected by the shutdown of mobile international connectivity,” ILNA said.
On December 25, resistance units posted messages and pictures of Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), and Massoud Rajavi, the Leader of the Iranian Resistance, in Tehran and in several other cities, including Tabriz, Karaj, and Arak. They read: “Hail to the martyrs from Shahriar to Karaj, Sirjan, Behbahan, Shiraz, Marivan, Khorramshahr, Tehran, and other cities,” “Flowers have blossomed from the blood of the martyrs,” “I hail the proud martyrs of Iran uprising,” “Hail to rebels for freedom, hail to Iran uprising for freedom,” “The roaring river of the martyrs’ blood guarantees our people’s victory,” “The army of the unemployed and hungry will not rest,” and “On the eve of 40th day memorial of the martyrs, they are alive.”
According to IRNA, Iran’s intelligence ministry agents seized 126 guns, including assault rifles, handguns and pellet guns, mostly US-made, which had been smuggled across the border to the city of Isfahan.
Meanwhile, the Iranian Government has been entangled in a lingering feud with the Reuters news agency over its accounts of the protests and the regime’s violent response. Government Spokesman Ali Rabiyee categorically rejected the “unfounded claims” reported by Reuters on the death toll of the riots. “These statistical figures are strongly rejected,” Rabiyee said on Wednesday. Reuters claimed that the figures had been provided “by three Iranian interior ministry officials.”
