Iran protests continue despite warning from Revolutionary Guard
Protests in Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini continued unabated Sunday despite a warning from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard the day before that Saturday would be "the last day of the riots."
Why it matters: The warning prompted fears that the country's security forces could be preparing to intensify their crackdown, which has already entailed the use of deadly violence against protesters, internet restrictions and mass arrests.
The big picture: Videos proliferating on social media Sunday showed security forces firing tear gas and shooting into crowds of protesters at a number of universities in Iran, as well as beating protesters, Reuters reported.
In one video, a member of Iran's Basij paramilitary militia opened fire on students protesting at a branch of Azad University in Tehran. Reuters was not able to independently verify the video.
Hengaw, a Kurdish human rights group, tweeted a video Sunday allegedly showing that "special units and anti-riot forces are deployed around Kurdistan University's campus." Gunfire is seemingly heard in another video from the same location tweeted by the group.
The Revolutionary Guards' head in Iran's Khorasan Junubi province, Brigadier General Mohammadreza Mahdavi, was quoted by state news agency IRNA on Sunday as saying that up until now, "Basijis have shown restraint and they have been patient," but that, "it will get out of our control if the situation continues," per Reuters.
Two female journalists who were crucial in reporting the news of Mahsa Amini's death — Niloofar Hamedi and Elahe Mohammadi — were formally accused of being CIA spies on Friday in a joint statement by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and the intelligence agency of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
More than 300 Iranian journalists called for the two women's release from Evin prison — where they have been reportedly been held for weeks — in a statement published in several Iranian newspapers on Sunday, per Reuters.
(c) 2022, Axios
https://www.axios.com/2022/10/30/iran-protest-continue-revolutionary-guard
