On Friday, July 30, Persepolis football team defeated Paykan to win the Iran Pro League for the fifth time in a row. This time, though, victory celebrations in cities across the country rapidly turned into anti-government protests.
Chants including “Death to the dictator”, “Mullahs get lost” and “Death to Velayat-e faqih” – “guardianship of the Islamic jurist”, the foundational principle of the Islamic Republic – were captured on video in the aftermath of the game.
So too were members of the security forces attacking Persepolis fans in retaliation. In one video, a uniformed officer can be seen beating a protestor.
The spontaneous demonstrations on Friday night came amid state-sponsored crackdowns on nightly protests in Khuzestan, which began on July 15 over the deadly water crisis and have since come to represent generalized discontent with the regime.
At least ten people have been killed by security forces in Khuzestan in Lorestan proinces in the last two weeks. Hundreds more have been arrested, the locations of many of whom are still unknown.
Mobile internet access has also been disrupted across the province. But protests in support of the people of Khuzestan have since spread and gathered pace.
On the morning of Friday, June 30, a group of Iranian women – the mothers of people who were killed during the nationwide November 2019 protests – rallied in Tehran’s Azadi Square in support of the Khuzestan residents’ cause. Within hours, reports surfaced that they had been beaten and arrested en masse by security forces.
Thousands of fans took to the streets on Friday night after Persepolis’s win. But in many places the celebrations gave way to chants against the regime – and the person of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.
Related Coverage:
More Arrests as Protests Intensify in Cities Across Iran
Iran Protests: Internet Shutdowns Becoming More Targeted
Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Tehran
Iran Protests: Grenade Launchers and Shotguns Used on Protesters
Solidarity With Khuzestan Water Protests Spills Into Other Iranian Provinces
Iranian Filmmakers, Writers and Teachers' Groups Back Khuzestan Protesters
Solidarity With Khuzestan Water Protests Spills Into Other Iranian Provinces
Iranians Rally in Support on Fifth Night of Khuzestan Water Protests
Furious Crowds Protest Water Crisis in Khuzestan
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