An Eyewitness Account of Recent Protests in Shahinshahr, Isfahan

Anti-government protests in Iran, which began last Tuesday in several cities, continued until Friday evening. Eyewitnesses report that despite the security atmosphere in some cities, gatherings took place on Friday night in Tehran, Shahinshahr, and Gohardasht Karaj, leading to clashes between protesters and police forces. An eyewitness named Amin, speaking to Radio Farda, describes the latest situation of protests in Shahinshahr: The protests in Shahinshahr started on Thursday morning with a small gathering, mostly women, of about 40 to 50 people. They chanted a few peaceful slogans regarding the economy and nothing else. The gathering lasted no more than 10 to 15 minutes and then ended. On Thursday night, the atmosphere in the city became very security-oriented, which provoked the people and the city became chaotic until last night when the atmosphere was extremely secure, with special forces motorcycles patrolling the city, creating fear and panic with loud engine noises and setting off firecrackers on the asphalt. Given that the security atmosphere was present on Friday night, did a gathering form in Shahinshahr? Yes, there were small gatherings in various places, for example, 20 people on one street and 50 on another, with cars honking. Motorcyclists with paintball guns were shooting indiscriminately at anyone, whether women, children, the elderly, or the young, and our only skill was to hide our heads to avoid being hit. Were there any slogans chanted in these scattered gatherings? Yes, last night the slogans were diverse, both against the economy and the regime, with chants against Mr. Khamenei. Last night, most of the slogans were against the regime rather than economic issues. But you mentioned that on Thursday, most slogans were about economic problems in Iran? Yes. You said you were injured by paintball shots? Yes, on my right arm and left leg, but since I was wearing jeans, it didn't bother me. Did you see others injured by these paintball shots? In our gathering, there were about 10 of us, and a few were hit and injured. There were no law enforcement forces, only Basij members. Was there another clash last night in Shahinshahr that you witnessed? No, there was just some burning of things due to the confrontation with tear gas. If people are making a fire and burning tires or trash cans, it is only to protect their eyes from tear gas and for no other reason. Were there any arrests during the gatherings on Thursday and Friday nights? I personally did not witness any arrests, but friends said they saw several young people being detained.