IRAN CRISIS UPDATE, NOVEMBER 3
Violent clashes erupted between security forces and protesters in Karaj, Alborz Province on November 3.
Protesters coordinated extensively to respond to the regime crackdown in Karaj, possibly reflecting growing organization within the movement.
The regime may be struggling to reach a consensus on how to manage the protests at this stage.
American and Persian Gulf officials told the Wall Street Journal that the likelihood of an imminent Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries has decreased but is not gone entirely.
At least 22 protests took place in 17 cities across 12 provinces.
The IRGC Intelligence Organization arrested three members of an “anti-security team” in Ilam City, Ilam Province.
LEC Sistan and Baluchistan Provincial Commander Ahmad Taheri announced that unidentified gunmen shot and killed a Shia cleric in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan Province.
Skirmishes may erupt between pro- and anti-regime protesters on November 4.
An IRGC Telegram channel circulated on November 3 an op-ed calling for the IRGC Quds Force to establish a 30-kilometer-deep buffer zone into Iraqi Kurdistan to counter anti-regime Kurdish militants there.
Turkey reaffirmed its support for Azerbaijan amid the growing tensions between Tehran and Baku.
The Artesh may have prepared its forces to participate in protest suppression in Zahedan on November 4. Artesh Commander Major General Abdol Rahim Mousavi traveled to Zahedan on November 2 ostensibly to inspect air defense elements stationed there.[45] Mousavi condemned the protests during the inspection. The timing of his visit to Zahedan is noteworthy given the growing anti-regime militancy there and planned protests for November 4. The regime may seek to involve the Artesh in protest suppression to mitigate the security forces’ bandwidth constraints or apply more extreme force against demonstrators.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-november-3
Artesh is the regular army https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran_Army
They are not as brutal as the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Revolutionary_Guard_Corps or the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basij
Protesters knock turbans off clerics’ heads in Iran | Al Jazeera Newsfeed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vitvG0V3VO4
The protests haven’t stopped, just the news coverage (not that there was much coverage)
IRAN CRISIS UPDATE, NOVEMBER 4
Parents of Iranian youth spearheading ongoing demonstrations are increasingly describing protests as a revolutionary movement, mirroring their children’s rhetoric.
At least 14 protests took place in 11 cities across six provinces.
Violent clashes erupted between security forces and protesters in Khash, Rask, Saravan, and Zahedan in Sistan and Baluchistan Province following Friday prayer sermons.
President Ebrahim Raisi criticized US President Joe Biden for pledging to “free Iran” during a campaign rally in California.
Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Commander Major General Hossein Salami warned that Iran will retaliate against the US and its allies for their purported role in fomenting ongoing unrest at a regime-organized rally.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-november-4