Iran: Protesters denounce Islamic Republic leadership in Zahedan

Despite the crackdowns by security forces in Iran, the anti-government protests have persisted across the country. Protesters in the southeast region of Iran have chanted slogans denouncing Iran’s supreme leader.

In a video shared on social media said to be from the area of Zahedan in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province, protesters denounced Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the latest demonstrations. The province is home to Iran’s Baluch minority of up to two million people, and a human rights group said the minority has faced decades of discrimination and repression.

Protests across the country have been taking place in September, triggered by the death of Kurdish Iranian Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of the morality police. Amini died days after she was arrested for allegedly flouting the Islamic Republic’s dress code for women, sparking public outrage. Tehran has sought to blame its foreign adversaries, such as the United States, for the ongoing protests.

Some of the worst unrest in recent months has often taken place in the regions with longstanding grievances against the Islamic Republic. People from all walks of life have been taking part in the demonstrations, the biggest since the 1979 Revolution.

A rights group said that at least 100 protesters faced possible death sentences for their involvement in the demonstrations.

“At least 100 protesters are currently at risk of execution, death penalty charges, or sentences. This is a minimum as most families are under pressure to stay quiet, the real number is believed to be much higher,” said the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group on its website.

On Sunday, Tehran called on the United Nations to take action against the US for the assassination of its top general, Qassem Soleimani, two years ago. Iran says Soleimani was killed when his convoy was attacked by missiles fired from a US drone while he was on a diplomatic mission in Iraq’s capital Baghdad.

The legal department of the Iranian presidential office, in a letter to the UN published on Saturday, called on the international body to take “all legal initiatives in its power, including issuing a resolution” to condemn Washington and discourage similar actions in the future.