Iran Crisis Update, March 13, 2023
The Iranian regime is preparing to deploy its security services to deter and likely crack down on the planned demonstrations during the upcoming Iranian holidays.
Student poisonings occurred in Iranian provinces that saw significant protest activity during the Mahsa Amini protest movement.
Iranian public figures continue to suggest that the regime or regime-adjacent actors are in some way responsible for the poisoning campaign primarily targeting schoolgirls in recent months.
Regime efforts to suppress and silence political dissent may inadvertently intensify anti-regime sentiment among the Iranian public.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with Iranian officials in Tehran on March 13 to expand bilateral cooperation and bolster sanctions mitigations.
At least three protests occurred on March 11, ten protests on March 12, and 17 protests on March 13.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-march-13-2023
Exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi has called on Iranians to stage anti-regime rallies on the the ancient fire festival Tuesday to show that the protest movement is strong.
In a tweet on Monday, Reza Pahlavi said “the fire lit up in our hearts will never die”, asking people to take to streets to show anger at the clerical rulers once again.
Young activists’ groups had called since late February for three nights of protests, including the Charshanbeh Suri fire festival on Tuesday, preceding the Iranian New Year next week. “In the year that is coming to an end, hundreds of brave Iranians sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Iran. We are obliged to keep up on the path,” he added.
His statements come after young Iranians took to the streets in several cities Monday as the first night of protests. Young people use fire crackers and lit bonfires to mark the festival.
Abbas Ali Mohammadian, the police commander of Tehran has warned that “the police will use the capacity of mosques and public groups” to prevent the celebrations in the streets.
The fire festival is celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, just before the New Year (Nowruz), which marks the day of the Spring Equinox. The festival dates to pre-Islamic times and for the same reason, its celebration is considered as a pagan practice by the clerics running the country since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran Crisis Update, March 14, 2023
The Iranian government is prioritizing mandatory veiling amidst poor economic conditions, recent student poisonings, and heightened protest activity.
Protesters escalated against the regime on March 14.
At least 20 protests occurred in 14 cities across eight provinces.
Some regime officials are continuing to deny that the recent attacks on Iranian school girls were poisonings.
Iran and Bahrain could be considering normalizing their relations following the Iran-Saudi Arabia rapprochement.
Iranian proxy Badr-affiliated Iraqi officials rhetorically targeted Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani for his handling of security operations in Diyala, likely to deter him from interfering in Badr operations in Diyala.
Iran deployed proxy forces along the Al Mayadin-Abu Kamal segment of the Route Four highway likely to improve local operational security conditions.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-march-14-2023