-
Authorities have been bracing for these water protests to reach Tehran since last week
-
They beefed up security at Freedom Square last Friday after demonstrations at one of Tehran’s metro stations
Scores of Iranians marched along one of the most recognized streets of Iran on Monday, July 26, in protests against the ongoing water crisis in the Khuzestan province, said local reports.
The demonstration was a spillover from protests in the oil-rich province, where water protests began more than 10 days ago.
Iran is facing what has been described as its worst drought in 50 years. As it spread across the Khuzestan province, it got violent, resulting in at least three deaths.
While the Iranian authorities blamed armed protesters for the deaths, the demonstrators said the security forces fired at them, resulting in the killings.
Authorities have been bracing for these protests to reach Tehran since last week, when they beefed up security at Freedom Square after demonstrations at one of the city’s metro stations.
While there has been no widespread violence yet, the situation is tense, as was demonstrated by the protests on Monday at the Jomhuri Islami Avenue, which translates from Farsi to Islamic Republic Avenue.
The road, often colloquially shortened to just Jomhuri, is a popular youth hangout, and houses arguably Tehran’s largest mobile-phone shopping center.
The reports said videos of the protest posted online showed people shouting: “Death to the dictator.”
This could be due to the fact that Khuzestan, where Iran’s water shortage is the most pronounced, is home to most of the country’s Arab minority.
These Arabs have for years claimed the ruling Islamic dispensation has discriminated against them, and they are known to often root for the regime that the current rulers toppled during the Islamic Revolution of the 1970s.
