Iran Lawmakers Demand Severe Punishment for ‘Rioters’ as Protests Rage

Demonstrators light candles during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Athens, Greece, October 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Demonstrators light candles during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Athens, Greece, October 29, 2022. (Reuters)
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Iran Lawmakers Demand Severe Punishment for ‘Rioters’ as Protests Rage

Demonstrators light candles during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Athens, Greece, October 29, 2022. (Reuters)
Demonstrators light candles during a protest following the death of Mahsa Amini in Athens, Greece, October 29, 2022. (Reuters)

Hardline Iranian lawmakers urged the judiciary on Sunday to "deal decisively" with perpetrators of unrest, as the country struggles to suppress the biggest show of dissent in years.

Widespread anti-government demonstrations erupted in September after the death of young Kurdish Iranian woman Mahsa Amini, who had been detained by morality police for allegedly flouting the strict dress code imposed on women.

"We ask the judiciary to deal decisively with the perpetrators of these crimes and with all those who assisted in the crimes and provoked rioters," 227 lawmakers from Iran's 290-seat, hardline-led parliament said in a statement, according to state media.

The activist HRANA news agency said that 318 protesters had been killed in the unrest as of Saturday, including 49 minors. Thirty-eight members of the security forces had also been killed, it added.

State media said last month that more than 46 security forces, including police, had been killed. Government officials have not provided an estimate of any wider death count.

Iranian leaders have vowed tough action against protesters they have described as rioters, blaming enemies including the United States of fomenting the unrest.

Demonstrations continued in many cities on Sunday, from Tehran to central city of Yazd and northern city of Rasht, according to rights groups and videos on social media.

Reuters could not verify the rights groups' reports independently, or the social media posts and footage.

In the Kurdish city of Marivan, rights group Hengaw said security forces opened fire on crowds who had gathered after the funeral of another woman, Nasrin Ghaderi, to protest against her death.

Hengaw said Ghaderi died in a coma on Saturday after suffering severe blows to her head by the security forces while demonstrating in Tehran.

A prosecutor, cited by state media, said Ghaderi had a pre-existing heart issue and had died of "poisoning", without going into further detail. There was no immediate official comment on the report of gunfire.

Weeks after Amini's death, a coroner's report denied Amini had died due to blows to the head while in custody, as claimed by her parents, and linked her death to past medical conditions.

Students in a dozen universities, including in the northern cities of Rasht and Amol, held protests on Sunday chanting "death to Dictator", a reference to Iran's top authority Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to the unverified videos on social media.



Kremlin, on Report of Missile Supplies from Iran, Says Tehran Is its Partner 

A Qadr H long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile is fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during a maneuver in an undisclosed location in Iran, on March 9, 2016. (AP)
A Qadr H long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile is fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during a maneuver in an undisclosed location in Iran, on March 9, 2016. (AP)
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Kremlin, on Report of Missile Supplies from Iran, Says Tehran Is its Partner 

A Qadr H long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile is fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during a maneuver in an undisclosed location in Iran, on March 9, 2016. (AP)
A Qadr H long-range ballistic surface-to-surface missile is fired by Iran's Revolutionary Guard during a maneuver in an undisclosed location in Iran, on March 9, 2016. (AP)

The Kremlin, asked on Monday about a Wall Street Journal report that Iran has sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia, said that Iran is Russia's partner, and that the two countries are developing dialogue in all areas.

The Journal cited unidentified US and European officials as saying that Iran had sent short-range ballistic missiles to Russia.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that he had seen the report but that not all such reports were correct.

"Iran is our important partner, we are developing our trade and economic relations, we are developing our cooperation and dialogue in all possible areas, including the most sensitive ones," Peskov told reporters.

Tehran and Moscow have drawn closer since Russia ordered tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022, with Iran supplying its Shahed drones to Russia's military.

Reports of Iran transferring missiles to Russia are "psychological warfare", senior Revolutionary Guards' commander Fazlollah Nozari said on Monday according to state media.

Any Iranian transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia would mark a sharp escalation in the Ukraine war, the United States said on Friday.