Two Protesters Killed; Informed Source to VOA: 'Revolution' Continues in Izeh and Abdanan

Following reports from Izeh regarding the killing of two protesters by government forces, an informed source in Iran told VOA: 'The revolution that started last year is still ongoing beneath the surface of the city,' and 'the security apparatus of the Islamic Republic knows this.' After reports of armed attacks by government agents on protesters in Izeh, news and human rights sources reported that Mehdi Almasi was also killed in the attack on Tuesday, August 22. On Wednesday, news sources reported that Islamic Republic armed forces shot and killed a protester named 'Kamer Tahmasbi' in Izeh. This occurred just hours after Kamer Tahmasbi posted an Instagram story featuring a photo of himself alongside another deceased protester from the city named 'Hossein Saeedi,' referring to him as a 'one-man army.' The Fars News Agency, affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported without naming the two deceased protesters that two citizens were killed in the early hours of the first day of Shahrivar during a 'reciprocal shooting,' and three others were arrested. This media outlet close to the Revolutionary Guards claimed that these individuals were 'armed and notorious criminals.' The informed source regarding the killings of Kamer Tahmasbi and Mehdi Almasi told VOA: 'I know that in cities including Izeh and Abdanan, the revolution that started last year is still ongoing beneath the surface, and the active body that has been in the streets for many days, mostly from the youth with nationalist tendencies, continues to 'struggle.' According to him, 'In these months, as the wave of revolution has subsided in the streets, in the two cities I mentioned, many individuals who participated in the protests have taken refuge in nearby villages and some in the mountains to continue their struggle, and occasionally their locations are compromised,' and several of them have been killed due to 'sieges' by the Islamic Republic forces for arrest. He also added: 'As far as I know, in the past three to four months in Abdanan, many have been arrested due to their locations being compromised with heavy charges.' This informed source also mentioned about the recent fatalities in Izeh, stating that they 'were very active during this revolutionary period and now their locations have been compromised' and they were pursued under 'chase and flight' and 'were killed.' The informed source residing in Iran told VOA's Persian section: 'The most important point and message is that this revolution is ongoing beneath the surface of society, and its active forces are still waiting to return to organize a new wave and even take bigger steps. Now, when this opportunity will arise and these forces can carry out a joint movement in different cities may require time, but in any case, all of this is a sign that the security apparatus knows this revolution is ongoing and is still engaged in identifying and controlling the main forces of the revolutionary body.' This is not the first time that the armed forces of the Islamic Republic have targeted protesters in Izeh. Previously, on July 21, news sources reported that Mostafa Ahmadpour, another protester from Izeh and a friend of Kamer Tahmasbi, was killed by the Islamic Republic forces. This news was also confirmed by Fars News Agency, which claimed that Mostafa Ahmadpour was 'caught during drug trafficking' by the police command forces on July 21, while also introducing him as the perpetrator of the killing of 'two police officers' in Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province and as one of the 'leaders of the Izeh terrorist incident,' an event that some families of the deceased, including the Pirfalak family, have explicitly stated was carried out by the police force.