Iranian Security Forces Crack Down on Protesters in Zahedan

Reports from the southeastern Iranian city of Zahedan say security forces fired gunshots and tear gas to break up hundreds of protesters who had gathered in the streets after Friday prayers for weekly protests against the Islamic Republic.

There were no immediate reports of casualties, but local sources said that an undisclosed number of demonstrators were detained. 

Videos shared on social media depict the protesters chanting slogans against Iran’s Shia leadership near Grand Makki Mosque, which was said to be "surrounded” by security agents.

Zahedan is the capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province, which is home to Iran's Sunni Baluch minority of up to 2 million people. The city has seen protest rallies almost every Friday since September 30 of last year, when security forces killed nearly 100 people in the deadliest incident in the nationwide demonstrations sparked by the death in police custody of Mahsa Amini.

Grand Makki Mosque, the largest Sunni mosque in Iran, has been a focal point of anti-establishment protests since the Woman, Life, Freedom movement erupted in mid-September 2022. 

Its Friday prayer leader, Molavi Abdolhamid, has been a key dissenting voice inside Iran, using his sermons to sharply criticize the bloody response of the country’s Shia clerical rulers to the protest movement and to call for fundamental economic, social and political changes.

In its October 20 sermon, Molavi denounced the government's long-standing discriminatory policies toward Sunnis, citing the recent closing of a Sunni prayer house in Tehran.

On October 16, security forces stormed the complex housing the prayer house known as "Nabi Rahmat" and ransacked its facilities, according to reports.

"What harm has this prayer hall caused to you? You hold the reins of our nation, yet you cannot tolerate a mere 100-meter-square prayer house?" Molavi asked.

Sunnis in Tehran and its surrounding areas grapple with persistent challenges when it comes to establishing mosques and conducting religious ceremonies, even though Sunni Islam is recognized and accorded formal legal standing in the Islamic Republic.

#زاهدان

تصاویری از حملە نیروهای امنیتی بە تجمع اعتراضی مردم زاهدان در نزدیکی مسجد مکی و بازداشت مردم معترض
منابع بلوچ، از پرتاب گاز اشک‌آور و تیراندازی نیروهای امنیتی بە سمت مردم و همچنین بازداشت فلەای و خشونت‌آمیز انان خبر می‌دهند.

جمعە ۲۸ مهرماه ۱۴۰۲#کولبر_نیوز#بلوچستان… pic.twitter.com/cwcLSwGthJ

— Kolbarnews | کولبر نیوز (@Kolbarnews) October 20, 2023

Members of the Baluch minority, who are mainly Sunnis, have long suffered deep-rooted discrimination in Iran because of their religion, with their social, political and cultural rights being repressed. Baluch regions have been economically neglected, resulting in entrenched poverty. 

Regarding the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Molavi called upon the international community to pursue a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of hostages and prisoners, and the establishment of a "just" peace between Palestinians and Israelis.

While openly admitting its backing for Hamas, funding and arming the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip, the Islamic Republic insists it was not involved in its October 7 assault on Israel.

Iranian officials have celebrated the Hamas attack and warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would be met with a response from other fronts, prompting fears of a wider conflict that could draw in other countries.