Iran Violence Claims At Least Five Lives As Angry Rallies Mark 2019 Protests

At least two Iranian security forces and three protesters were reported killed on November 15, as angry demonstrations marked the third anniversary of nationwide protests over a sudden rise in the price of gasoline.

Iranians went on strike in numerous cities, adding to pressure on a clerical regime that has been battling two months of widespread unrest triggered by the death of a 22-year-old Kurdish woman in police custody.

In the Kurdish cities of Sanandaj and Kamyaran, in western Kurdistan province, riot squads shot dead three protesters, sources told IranWire. The victims were identified as Isa Biglari, Fawad Mohammadi and Zaniar Allah Moradi.

Another man, Saeed Moradi, was hospitalized in Kamyaran and was said to be in critical condition.

Protesters stormed a Basij paramilitary base in Kamyaran.

In West Azerbaijan province, the municipal building in Bokan was set on fire.

Footage from the northern city of Rasht, Gilan province, apparently shows a riot squad firing live ammunition at protesters.

At least two security forces were killed overnight, state media reported. 

Rallies hit other cities including Isfahan, Shiraz, Hormozgan, Ashnavieh, Miandarreh, Mahabad, Baneh, Javanrood, Kermanshah and parts of Tehran.

Footage showed crowds gathered outside of the closed shops in Tehran's Grand Bazaar, some shouting: "This year is a year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be toppled”

In Kurdistan province, which since the beginning of the latest protest movement has seen some of the most chaotic protests, shopkeepers closed markets in at least 18 cities, according to Hengaw, an Oslo-based human-rights organization.

Steelworkers in Isfahan stood outside their factories to demand wage increases, among other things.

Students at numerous universities in Kurdistan boycotted classes. Footage showed some students chanting: “For everyone that you kill, a thousand people will rise.”

Students have refused to return to class in defiance of authorities' warnings. They are demanding the unconditional release of all arrested students, the prohibition of arrest warrants for the released students, the lifting of recent academic suspensions and the withdrawal of the security forces from campuses.

The protest movement erupted in September following the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of morality police. She had been arrested for allegedly violating Iran’s strict Islamic dress code.

Security forces unleashed a heavy-handed crackdown on the protests, arresting more than 15,000 people and killing at least 326 others, including 43 children, according to rights groups.

Three years ago, tens of thousands of Iranians rallied in some 100 cities and towns across oil-rich Iran after the authorities announced a sudden hike in the price of gasoline. The security forces responded with brutal force to the anti-establishment protests, killing hundreds of people and detaining thousands during several days of unrest.