Iran seeks to prevent protests for anniversary of Mahsa Amini’s death – as UK and US issue fresh sanctions

Security forces have been deployed around Iran, with this weekend marking the first anniversary of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini's death in police custody. The killing prompted mass protests that continue to challenge the country's theocratic rule.

In Tehran, Iran's capital, and other cities, the public noticed a heightened presence of police and security forces. This has gone unreported by the country's state-run and semi-official media.

The demonstrations over Ms Amini’s death last 16 September, following her arrest by the country’s morality police for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory headscarf law, are among the largest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The security force crackdown that has followed has seen more than 500 people killed and more than 22,000 people detained.

Iran's theocracy is trying hard to both ignore Saturday's anniversary and tamp down on any possibility of more unrest.

Video shared by Hengaw, a Kurdish rights group, showed what the group described as volunteer members of the Revolutionary Guard, known as Basij, in the city of Sanandaj on Friday.

Iran's government, including supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, have sought to blame the West for fomenting the unrest, though have offered no evidence. However, the protests found fuel in the widespread economic pain that Iran's estimated 89 million people have faced since the collapse of the country’s nuclear deal with world powers, after the then US president Donald Trump unilaterally pulled America from the accord in 2018.

International pressure remains high on Iran, even as the administration tries to de-escalate tensions with other nations in the region after years of confrontation.

The UK foreign secretary, James Cleverly, announced new sanctions on Friday, targeting senior decision makers who are enforcing Iran’s mandatory hijab law. “Today’s sanctions on those responsible for Iran’s oppressive laws send a clear message that the UK and our partners will continue to stand with Iranian women and call out the repression it is inflicting on its own people,” Mr Cleverly said.

Those sanctioned include Iran's minister for culture and Islamic guidance, his deputy, the mayor of Tehran and an Iranian police spokesman, the Foreign Office said; adding that the sanctions were coordinated with similar moves by the United States, Canada and Australia.

From the White House, US president Joe Biden issued a lengthy statement acknowledging the anniversary of Ms Amini's death.

“Jill [the first lady] and I join people around the world in remembering her — and every brave Iranian citizen who has been killed, wounded or imprisoned by the Iranian regime for peacefully demanding democracy and their basic human dignity,” Mr Biden said. “Iranians alone will determine the fate of their country, but, the United States remains committed to standing with them — including providing tools to support Iranians’ ability to advocate for their own future.”

AP