Iran Protests: Crackdown Continues Amidst Internet Blackout and Funeral Demonstrations

Ongoing Crackdown and Internet Blackout

• 🌍 An internet blackout continues across Iran, making reliable news and images from the country extremely rare.
• 💡 Despite the blackout, firsthand accounts describe horror, scale of killings, injuries, and arrests.
• 🚨 Security forces, including Basij and police, are conducting random phone checks, even examining ChatGPT accounts, for protest-related content.
• 💸 Many Iranians are paying expensive prices for VPNs to get a few minutes of daily internet connection.

Scale of Violence and Resistance

• ⚠️ Human rights organizations estimate that thousands have been killed in the crackdown on demonstrators, with the real number believed to be much higher.
• 📈 The violence has surpassed that seen in the first year of repression in Syria, with significantly more people killed in Iran in a shorter period.
• 🚫 Large-scale street protests have largely ceased due to the unprecedented bloodshed.

Funerals as Protests

• 💬 Smaller protests are occurring on limited occasions, notably during the funerals of those killed.
• 🎯 These funerals are turning into anti-regime demonstrations, with attendees chanting slogans like "This year is a year of bloodshed" and "Death to the Supreme Leader."
• 💔 Examples include the funeral of Ahmed Hosraani, a young basketball player, and Ali Khaledi, a 28-year-old protester, where crowds gathered and chanted against the regime.

Regime's Strategy and Public Sentiment

• 🔒 The regime has not restored the internet, likely due to the ongoing challenges and the fear of further unrest.
• ⚡ The authorities are facing thousands of smaller problems in every city, with funerals becoming focal points for dissent.
• 🗣️ The speaker notes that the hatred instilled in the population has grown with each act of repression, and each new wave of protest has been stronger than the last.
• ✊ The current protests are described as more significant than previous movements like "Woman, Life, Freedom" and the 2019 protests.
• 💬 A well-known saying highlights that while dictators must win every battle, the people only need to win one.