Protests Continue Despite Deadly Gunfire from Islamic Republic Repressive Forces

The fifth consecutive day of nationwide protests in Iran continued on Thursday, January 11, as, unlike previous days where repressive forces made greater efforts to instill fear, this time they resorted more to gunfire, killing and injuring several individuals. The names of some of the deceased reported on social media include "Dariush Ansari Bakhtiarvand," "Amir Hesam Khodayari," "Ahmad Jalil," "Sajjad Valamanesh," "Shayan Asadollahi," "Vahab Mousavi," "Khoda Dad Shirvani," "Reza Niknam," and a child named "Mostafa." Many cities ended Thursday with crowds in the streets. Protests were particularly prominent in cities such as Hamadan, Kavar Fars, Nourabad Lorestan, Marvdasht, Lordegan, Firuzabad, Qom, Azna, Ilam, Dareh Shahr, Abdanan, Farsan, Shahin Shahr, Kuhdasht, Kermanshah, and Lali. In Farsan, angry protesters set fire to the seminary in the city. In Lali, Fars, a statue of Qassem Soleimani was burned in one of the city squares. Hamadan witnessed indiscriminate gunfire from repressive agents towards protesters, and the resistance of the people against them drew significant attention. The protests of January 1404 actually began with a strike by Tehran's merchants, which continued into the fifth day and spread to other cities such as Genaveh, Qeshm, Arak, and Isfahan, with shopkeepers and merchants ceasing activities in protest against the government. Universities also had a tense atmosphere, as Tehran University announced the suspension of classes for nine days. Although the educational department announced that due to cold and issues related to "energy imbalance," classes for the last week of all educational institutions would be held online. In some universities, such as Beheshti, students staged protests in the dormitory areas until the early hours of Friday. Throughout Thursday, multiple reports of disruptions in the internet, especially with the first mobile internet and Irancell, were published, confirmed by institutions monitoring Iran's internet regarding the interruptions and reduced speed and bandwidth. Global reactions to the protests in Iran were numerous. Among them was Tom Tugendhat, a British MP, who, in an article referring to the potential regime change in Iran, wrote: "It is not Britain's duty to decide Iran's future. This responsibility belongs solely to the Iranians. However, the consequences of a meaningful change or continued decline will be global and immediate. A different Iran will reshape energy markets overnight. The return of over six million barrels of oil per day will lower prices, reduce inflation across Europe and North America, and impose severe financial pressure on oil-dependent countries, especially Russia." The Narges Mohammadi Foundation in Paris also issued a statement titled "Silence is Not an Option; We Stand with the People of Iran," referring to the killings and widespread arrests of people in recent days, stating: "In the absence of Narges Mohammadi, on the twenty-first day of her illegal detention and continued solitary confinement, the Narges Foundation declares that it stands with the protesting and suffering people who have resisted government repression over the past five days. We are together because this suffering is not an individual pain; it is a shared pain that can never be treated separately." The Tehran fruit and vegetable market also joined the protests, with students participating in the protests and clashing with university security. Clashes occurred between protesters and the Islamic Republic's repressive forces during nighttime protests in Babol on January 10. Car horns were honked in support of anti-government protests in Qom on January 11. The slogan "Death to Khamenei" was chanted during nighttime protests in Yasouj on January 10. American lawmakers reacted to the continuation of anti-government protests in Iran, stating: "The day of liberation is fast approaching." The U.S. State Department challenged Khamenei's claim about a "just order" by referencing the repression of protesters. The fourth day of anti-government protests in January 1404 saw expansion to more cities and increased violence from repressive forces. Support from Israeli officials and figures for the Iranian people's protests against the Islamic Republic was noted, with the majority of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee stating: "The people of Iran deserve better than this incompetent and corrupt regime."