Iran Crisis Update, January 8, 2023
Protest activity increased significantly—in line with the calls from protest organizers for countrywide demonstrations to commemorate the three-year anniversary of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) shooting down of a Ukrainian civilian airplane.
At least 27 protests occurred in 17 cities across 13 provinces. This protest count does not include the situation at the Rajaei Shahr prison in Karaj, Alborz Province, which is ongoing at the time of this writing.
The Iranian regime has reaffirmed its aggressive and hardline stance toward the protests and calls for social reform, which could enflame political dissent further.
Unidentified gunmen clashed with the Law Enforcement Command (LEC) in Khash, Khuzestan Province.
An unidentified gunman shot and killed an employee of Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update
Iran Crisis Update, January 9, 2023
Protest coordinators and organizations may have successfully deterred the Judiciary from executing two arrested protesters in Iran.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei continues to use rhetoric that suggests he is not amenable to any meaningful political or social reform in Iran.
The regime is having tone-deaf conversations on women’s rights with itself, highlighting that many officials have not internalized core protester grievances.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei likely dismissed Brigadier General Hossein Ashtari as law enforcement commander due to Khamenei’s dissatisfaction with the performance of the Law Enforcement Command in responding to the protests.
At least two protests occurred in two cities across two provinces in Iran.
Prominent Sunni cleric Moulana Abdol Hamid tweeted criticizing how the Judiciary has handled the legal cases of arrested protesters.
The Judiciary sentenced three protesters to death.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-crisis-update-january-9-2023