IRAN CRISIS UPDATE, DECEMBER 18
At least two protests took place in two cities across two provinces. Protests and strikes may increase in the coming days.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and significant parts of his inner circle are continuing to misdiagnose the core problems driving the ongoing protests.
Some protesters have increasingly focused on imposing economic pressure on the regime as the Iranian rial continues to devaluate.
LEC Tehran Provincial Commander Brigadier General Hossein Rahimi announced the seizure of a man-portable rocket launcher and around 50 other small arms.
An LEC Border Guard regiment commander, Colonel Hossein Ali Farahi, announced that the LEC clashed with unidentified militants near Esfandak, Sistan and Baluchistan Province.
Unidentified individuals stabbed and wounded four clerics in Qom City, Qom Province.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-december-18
IRAN CRISIS UPDATE, DECEMBER 19
Some protest coordinators and organizations are trying to reclaim religion from the regime, essentially arguing that one can be devoutly religious and still oppose the Islamic Republic.
The Mashhad Neighborhood Youth explained part of its protest doctrine, promoting the idea of decentralized, “neighborhood-based” protests.
The regime is torturing arrested protesters to extract forced confessions.
At least 10 protests took place in five cities across four provinces.
Anti-regime militancy has increased in Sistan and Baluchistan Province since December 18.
The Guardian reported that dozens to possibly a few hundred protesters have fled Iran into Iraqi Kurdistan since the protests began in September 2022.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-december-19