TEHRAN -

40 days after the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, after she was arrested by the "morality police" in Tehran on the pretext that she was not obligated to dress modestly;

The protest movement is still maintaining its momentum in one form or another;

Sometimes in the streets and city squares, and at other times in universities and girls' schools.

In response to the calls made by activists in the protest movement on the eve of the fortieth anniversary of Mahsa Amini, several Iranian cities have witnessed protest gatherings since this morning, Wednesday, which were interspersed with anti-regime chants and confrontations between the security forces and the protesters, while thousands of Iranians went out in mass rallies to commemorate the forty days at the Mahsa shrine in the city of Saqqaz (western country).

Iranian tweeters circulated videos on social media platforms, showing dense crowds heading to the grave of the young woman, Amini, chanting "Women, life and freedom", amid a remarkable presence of the police forces.

Activists on Twitter also circulated pictures of the strike of shop owners in the cities of Tehran, Saqqaz and Ardabil as part of the protests that erupted on September 16.

Protests continue in Iran despite the 40th anniversary of the death of Mahsa Amini (French)

The movement of the expelled

Although the history of the Islamic Republic has been full of protests and demonstrations over the past four decades, the current protest movement is distinct from its predecessors.

It has become the most sustainable, despite its loss of leadership and organization, and women play a pivotal role in it.

If the “Green Movement” in 2009 took to the streets from a political point of view to protest against the results of the presidential elections that resulted in the re-election of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and was supported by the reformist movement, then the current protests do not carry a specific political slogan, and sharp criticism is directed at the reformist and conservative currents. Both.

It is also different from the 2019 protests that erupted after the government raised gasoline prices and carried economic slogans calling for an improvement in the living situation, according to Iranian observers.

The prominent Iranian sociologist, Imad Afrogh, describes the current demonstrations as "the movement of the expelled" at various political, economic and cultural levels, warning against their repetition in the absence of radical solutions to end the "expulsion phenomenon."

The news agency "ISNA" quoted Afrog as criticizing the lack of justice in the distribution of national wealth at the economic level, adding that opinion polls showed about two years ago that 74% of Iranian society is not inclined to reformists or conservatives, which confirms his economic and cultural expulsion along with expulsion. political.


accumulated problems

For his part, political researcher Youssef Akandeh believes that the failure to resolve the accumulated crises for years has spread despair in the hearts of modern generations, adding that the presence of women in the ongoing protests gives them an impetus for their continuity.

In an interview with Al Jazeera Net, Akandeh said that what distinguishes the recent demonstrations from previous ones is the entry of the new generation to the protest line, stressing that those born after the mid-nineties are more daring and courageous to break restrictions, and they cannot be deterred by force, which worries the government about the intensification of confrontation. .

He pointed out that modern generations are accustomed to spending the largest amount of their time browsing websites and communication platforms, and do not absorb the bureaucracy typical of previous generations.

He added that the oppression of women over the past decades constituted an incentive for women in the current movement to demand their rights, which they consider wasted.

He concluded that the new Iranian generation does not see a tempting prospect in the future that awaits them if the situation of his country continues as it is, stressing that the continuous protest movement united the segments of Iranian society and its nationalities, and this is no longer good news for the security circles that only think of an iron fist to confront Any objection.

The authorities in Tehran accuse foreign and regional countries of instigating the protests (Reuters)

foreign interference

On the other hand, the former Iranian ambassador to Libya, Jaafar Qanad Bashi, accuses some "regional and Western countries that sponsor dozens of Persian-speaking stations of inciting the continuation of the protests," stressing that the Iranian authorities do not want to use force to contain the riots, believing that the young protesters have been "brainwashed and deceived." psychological warfare waged by the enemy.

And Qand Bashi - in his speech to Al Jazeera Net - added that the recent protests differ fundamentally from the previous demonstrations in terms of the small number of protesters, their dispersal and their failure to raise previous political and economic slogans.

The former Iranian diplomat considered that the protests in his country are a link of "the scenario of the Western, Hebrew and Arab axis that overthrew the government of Mohamed Morsi in Egypt and destabilized Iraq and Lebanon during the past few years," he said.

He denied that his country was concerned about the ongoing protests, adding that the Islamic Republic's only concern is "that the enemies will take advantage of these developments in order to shed blood."

Qand Bachi confirmed that the Iranian security services had previously arrested a number of foreign elements who entered the country "to pour oil on the fire of the protests."

On Tuesday, Iranian judiciary spokesman Masoud Staichi announced the arrest of Iranian citizens for their association with the "two French spies," stressing in his weekly press conference that they face charges of collusion against national security and espionage.

In recent days, the Iranian authorities announced the arrest of two French people in conjunction with demonstrations by teachers who were calling for wage reforms, and for the release of their colleagues arrested in previous demonstrations.