More than 850 public demonstrations of support held since start of war and at least 1,400 arrests, research reveals
Iran’s regime has organised more than 850 public demonstrations of support of the government since the beginning of the war and launched a continuing crackdown on unrest that has led to at least 1,400 detentions, research reveals.
The high number of pro-regime gatherings and the increasing number of detentions underlines the resilience of the Islamic Republic despite a month-long campaign of intensive airstrikes by the US and Israel, experts said.
The war began with a surprise Israeli strike, which killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, and many senior officials. Israel has since continued to assassinate senior commanders, most recently Alireza Tangsiri, the naval commander of the Revolutionary Guards, who died in an attack on the port city of Bandar Abbas on Thursday.
“The US-Israeli decapitation strategy could not have been more successful and continues to be so … but the regime has not fragmented and there are no defections. The messaging within Iran is how they are winning, and that is constant and consistent,” said Clionadh Raleigh, the president of Acled, an independent conflict monitor, which has built up a database of protest incidents and violence in the month-long conflict.
