The commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has said the solution to “enemy’s sedition” on the anniversary of last year’s extensive protests is “preemption.”
As the anniversary of anti-government protests approaches in September, Iranian officials are becoming more apprehensive about renewed unrest, and they double-down on their conspiracy theories about foreign plots to destabilize the regime.
In an address to a conference of Basij paramilitary officials in Tehran, Gen, Hossein Salami claimed that the “enemy” suffered a crushing defeat during last year’s protests, which he called “riots” and added that they will fail in inciting a sedition given the Islamic Republic’s “preparedness and vigilance”. He insisted that “The solution to [such plots] is prevention,” he added.
“The Basij [militia] and the IRGC were present on the scene in last year’s massive sedition -- with resourcefulness, perseverance, high degree of self-confidence and great hope, standing beside the people and defeating the enemy by exposing their plots,” he said.
The protests were sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa (Jina) Amini in the custody of morality police in mid-September and lasted for months. Amini had been arrested for “improper hijab” and died in hospital because of fatal head injuries she had sustained at the time of her arrest.
Security forces and the Basij militia of the IRGC cracked down on protesters heavy-handedly, killing more than 500 citizens, many children, and arresting more than 20,000. Hundreds were left were permanent physical disabilities, such as losing one or both eyes as security forces fired shotgun ‘bird shots’ at protesters from close range.
Protests gradually subsided after several months but defiance of hijab rules as a form of civil disobedience has forced the government to try to stop the anti-compulsory hijab movement by taking various measures.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has always attributed popular protests and uprisings to “enemy plots” and has often named the United States, Israel and Britain as the major culprits with European powers giving them assistance in attempts to incite “sedition” to destabilize and destroy the Islamic Republic.
“The events that took place these past few weeks were not merely street riots. They were detailed plots. The enemy initiated hybrid warfare [against the Islamic Republic],” Khamenei said in a speech on November 2, 2022, about the ongoing protests that had engulfed the country.
“The enemy, namely the United States, the Zionist regime, some insidious and malicious European powers, and some groups, entered the scene with all that was in their power,” he added while vowing again to take revenge for the US targeted killing of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad on January 3, 2020.
Salami described last year’s protests as “the most severe, most dangerous, most serious, most unequal and most massive global battle” against the Islamic Republic. Indeed, observers agree that the unrest was the most serious challenge the clerical regime faced since it seized power in the 1979 revolution.
Despite many threats against women who unveil, shutting down thousands of businesses where unveiling happens, crackdowns on social media, pressures on activists and prosecution of celebrity artists for defiance of hijab in public more and more women have been joining the movement over the past few months.
Thousands of women are now walking around, commuting, shopping, and jogging unveiled even in many smaller and more conservative regions of the country.
The government and judiciary have also proposed a bill to the parliament that if approved will impose heavy cash fines and other punishments including ban on social media use and leaving the country on ordinary citizens and celebrities, as well as shutting businesses for violations of hijab rules.