Protests continue to rage in Iran nearly two months after 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death. She died while in custody of the "morality police." Lately, reports claim that the "morality police" has been disbanded but reports emerging out of Iran suggest that any let-up in public outrage is unlikely anytime soon.
Mahsa Amini was arrested for allegedly wearing her hijab "improperly." She died in police custody on September 16.
Well over 300 people, the number could be much higher, were reported to have been killed by security forces in deadly government crackdowns since the protests broke out after Mahsa Amini's death.
Amid this, a former Iranian president, Mohammad Khatami has reportedly praised the anti-government protests. He urged the authorities to heed their demands before it is too late.
Mohammad Khatami said the "beautiful slogan" of "woman, life, freedom" showed Iranian society was moving towards a better future.
”Iranian women are suffering from Stone Age norms. What happened to Mahsa Amini, was just the fuse. The protests are directed against the entire regime," says activist Taghi Rahmani.
A very big difference this time, when compared to previous protests witnessed by Iran, is the involvement of the middle classes and university students, points out the 63-year-old activist, in an interview with the Spanish-language daily, El País.
"I think there is no going back," he replied when asked about whether he thinks the protests can be stopped.
"The Iranians have broken their ties with this regime. We are experiencing the genesis of a revolution that, to succeed, needs to be imposed in five areas: cultural, social, economic, legislative and political," he reportedly said.
In the first two, the revolution has already been completed. If there were any breaks in the mobilization, it would be only to resurface again, given the extent of popular discontent. The only thing that could slow down, but not stop, the protests would be if the theocracy managed to inject a large amount of money that would improve the daily life of the population, but the regime does not have that kind of economic capacity, he told El Pais.
When asked about what the persistence of the demonstrations represents, he replied that Iran's supreme leader is very concerned, especially since the forces of repression are becoming depleted [448 Iranians have died from the repression in Iran, according to the NGO Iran Human Rights, or 300 according to the only known official figure].
"The regime was not expecting this. Documents obtained by hackers have been released, in which the authorities express their fear that they will not have sufficient means to continue repressing the protests," he said.
Even the regime itself knows that the vast majority of Iranians, 80% according to those documents, want change. Not all of them are taking to the streets, due to the brutality of the crackdown and the fear, but they do share the ideals of the protesters. The remaining 20% are people who have a vested interest in the survival of this regime, he was quoted as saying by El Pais.