The Hamas Resistance to Israel and Iran’s Involvement

by William O. Beeman / October 18th, 2023

I was “interviewed” by an Iranian journalist online (15 October) about the Hamas-Israel conflict and Iran’s involvement. My answers are below.

1. During the war between Hamas and Israel, some sources in America and their affiliated media reported that Iranian money was blocked in Qatar again, which was later denied. Do you think there was a message hidden in this news?

I have written about this accusation in the United States. For your readers, I want to lay out the reasoning behind the accusations in the United States. The reasons for these accusations are complex, and they have more to do with partisan politics in the United States than about Iran.

First, the accusations of the tie between the Iranian settlement and the  Hamas attack was launched exclusively by Republicans, and it was a ploy to try and blame President Biden for the Hamas attack. There were many misstatements made, but “truth” is irrelevant when it comes to partisan politics. The main goal is to “score” points rhetorically.

The most ignorant comments claim that Iran received the money and immediately used the funds to support the Hamas attack. This is of course a total lie, but for people who are ill-disposed toward Iran and toward President Biden, this was an easy lie to sell, and looking at the commentary from right-wing media and comments on new stories shows that many people heard this and immediately believed it.

A slightly more sophisticated version of this same lie is that Iran received the funds, and couldn’t use them to support Hamas because they were earmarked for humanitarian purposes, but because they received the funds, they were able to “offset” other government funds which were sent to support Hamas.

When the Biden administration decisively pointed out that first, the funds did belong to Iran, and that none of them had been disbursed from Qatar, a third version of this story started circulating, and that is that Iran anticipated  these funds after the settlement, and so disbursed other existing funds to support Hamas.

Of course all of these were complete lies. Hamas had planned this attack for months. The Iranian settlement took place long after the planning and preparation for the Hamas attack was underway. Iran could not have anticipated that the $6 billion of its own money would  be released as a condition of the prisoner exchange, because negotiations were not finalized before the planning for the Hamas attack. So these accusations are false and illogical.

However, that still did not stop Republicans from continuing the narrative that President Biden was “soft on Iran” and that concessions made to Iran “somehow” led to the Hamas attack, and so ultimately President Biden was responsible.  The Republican narrative that the attack was engineered, directed and supported by Iran continues and now has been cemented in the Republican political narrative, and the Biden administration has been unable to counteract it.

Another narrative that has emerged claims that Iran will instigate Hezbollah to attack Israel from Lebanon, thus proving that Iran was behind the Hamas attack. This is illogical, of course, but the demonization of Iran has become such a complete fixture in American politics, this kind of narrative has been extremely easy to promulgate.

So, in response to these falsehoods, the Biden administration froze the Iranian assets in Qatar. It was a violation of the agreement between Iran and the United States. But it was necessary to try and stop the Republican lies. It highlighted the fact that the funds were never disbursed, and that Iran could not now anticipate receiving them.

And the other move by the Biden administration to counter this rhetoric was to engage in a full-throated, loud and very public support for Israel. Sending Secretary of State Blinken to Israel for a highly emotional presentation citing his own Jewish roots, and President Biden making many public statements in support of Israel blunted some of the Republican criticism. I am not suggesting that these sentiments were insincere, but they were a very deliberate, highly public and emotional display of support for Israel. And it appears to have worked.

2. How likely is it that America will use these funds as leverage against Iran in the future? If so, what will be the harm to America?

No one should expect these funds to be released very soon. There is a possibility that they could be quietly released after the 2024 elections when President Biden’s fate concerning his presidency is settled. If Trump were to win re-election in 2024 the funds would never be released while Trump was in office. One again, I emphasize that this is not about Iran. This is about electoral politics in the United States, where sadly,, any politician who does anything to support or provide any benefit to Iran will be attacked.

3. What is the impact of this war on the future of Iran’s nuclear negotiations?

The Israeli-Hamas conflict will result in a halt to any progress in the Iranian nuclear negotiations until after the 2024 presidential elections. Senator Lindsay Graham (Republican from South Carolina) said today that Iran was totally to blame for the Hamas attack. Other Republicans have said the same. Some have called for bombing of Iran’s oil facilities to destroy Iran’s economic base. Sadly, anything the United States would now do that would result in any improvement in Iran’s economic condition is on hold for now. It is too politically dangerous for the Biden administration to do this. At best the talks will “tread water” until after January 2025 when the new presidential administration is in office.

Let me also point out that if Hezbollah attacks Israel from the North, any talks between Iran and the United States over the nuclear negotiations will be immediately abandoned.

4. What effects will this war have on the future of Iran and Saudi Arabia relations?

One of the narratives that is being widely spread in the United States by Republicans is that: Iran engineered the Hamas attack on Israel in order to prevent the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. Iran has recently improved relations with Saudi Arabia. So the question of whether Iran sees establishment of Saudi Arabian-Israeli relations as a danger, or something to be prevented is a very potent issue that Iran will have to deal with diplomatically. If American conservative politicians have their way (including Trump), the Saudi Arabia-Israel accords will go forward, not only because that is seen as positive for Israeli security, but also because it will “deal a blow” to Iran–a double benefit for these politicians. But the Iranian government should take this accusation of Iranian support for the attack as a way to prevent this new alliance very seriously, because it is a major narrative in the United States.

5. What is the effect of the war between Hamas and Israel on the normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel?

See my answer above. This has emerged in some political circles as the root cause for the Hamas attack, and the supposed motivation for Iranian support of the Hamas attack–to prevent this normalization of Saudi Arabian-Israeli relations. It is assumed that Iran wants to prevent this, and it is also assumed that Hamas sees this as a blow to their cause.

Because this has been put forward so strongly as a motivation for the attack, every effort will now be made on the part of the United States to see that the normalization takes place.

Ass a final observation, however, many supporters of the Palestinians point out that normalization of Israel’s relations with Arab states will have no effect on the Palestinian cause, because in fact, Arab States have not been supporting Palestinians at all historically. There are individuals and groups within Arab states that have supported the Palestinian cause, but the Arab states themselves have never been supportive. This underscores Iran’s support for Palestinians–and the fact that Iran, as a non-Arab state has been the chief reliable support for the Palestinian cause.

William O. Beeman is a Professor, Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. During 2013-2014 he will be a Visiting Scholar at the Department of Anthropology, Stanford University. Read other articles by William, or visit William's website.

Iranians marched in fiery protests to demand Ayatollah Khamenei's resignation after officials shot down a commercial plane

Ellen Cranley

 

Iranians shout slogans as one of them holds-up a placard with a Persian script that reads, Death To The Liar, during a gathering to mark the victims of the Ukraine Boeing 737 passenger plane, in Tehrans business district on January 11, 2020. Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Thousands of protestors flooded the streets of Tehran to demand the resignation of the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

Demonstrators had first turned up for a vigil for the 176 passengers who were killed when Iran shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner.

Fiery chants and marching triggered a response from the city's riot police, and videos on social media show tear gas launched at the crowds. 

Thousands of protestors flooded the streets of Tehran days after Iran shot down a Ukrainian commercial airliner, killing all 176 passengers on board.

Emotional vigils for the passengers who were killed in the attack devolved into fiery demonstrations that saw Iranians marching with signs to demand the resignation of the country's leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

In video captured by The New York Times, angry protestors chanted "death to the dictator," and "shameless," with protestors on university campuses reportedly calling the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps "incompetent" and "the people's shame."

—Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020

Video posted to social media showed the protests triggered violent clashes with riot police, who responded with tear gas. 

—Saina M (@Sainaraha) January 11, 2020

Tensions in the country reached a breaking point when Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, which was carrying at least 130 Iranian citizens, was shot down on January 8 by Revolutionary Guard air defense forces after it took off from Tehran.

The country initially denied responsibility for the plane crash, suggesting it was a mechanical problem. However, in a statement released by military officials early January 11, Iran admitted to hitting the plane with a missile. 

Despite the statement, foreign minister Javad Zarif immediately pointed some blame at the US, saying the crash was caused by "human error at a time of crisis caused by US adventurism."

US-Iran relations quickly devolved as the countries have traded barbs since Iran's attacks in retaliation to the US killing of Qassem Soleimani, a top military official, who was killed by a drone strike ordered by President Donald Trump.                                                                      

Protesters in Tehran demand Iranian officials resign over PS752 missile strike
Semi-official Fars news agency says demonstrators ripped up pictures of Soleimani
The Associated Press · Posted: Jan 11, 2020

Demonstrators are seen in front of the Amirkabir University
 in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds gathered at universities in Tehran on Saturday night to protest the Iran government's late acknowledgement that it "unintentionally'' shot down the Ukrainian jetliner that crashed earlier this week, after the government had for days repeatedly denied Western accusations and mounting evidence that it was responsible.

A military statement carried by state media earlier on Saturday said the plane was mistaken for a "hostile target" after it turned toward a "sensitive military centre" of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. The military was at its "highest level of readiness," it said, amid the heightened tensions with the United States.

Iran President Hassan Rouhani tweeted: "Iran deeply regrets this disastrous mistake."

The protesters demanded officials involved in the missile attack be removed from their positions and tried.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported demonstrators ripped up pictures of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was killed in a targeted attack by the U.S. earlier this month.

Police later broke up the demonstrations.

ANALYSIS Admitting to downing Ukraine jetliner will cost Iran regime dearlyUkrainian plane was 'unintentionally' shot down, Iran says

The Kyiv-bound flight PS752 plane was shot down early Wednesday — killing all 167 aboard, including 57 Canadians — hours after Iran launched a ballistic missile attack on two military bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq in retaliation for the killing of Soleimani in an American airstrike in Baghdad. No one was hurt in the attack on the U.S. bases.

Iranians had rallied around their leaders after the killing of Soleimani, who was seen as a national icon for building up armed groups across the region that project Iranian influence and battle the Islamic State group and other perceived enemies.

The shooting down of the plane and the lack of transparency around it could reignite anger at the country's leadership. Iran has already seen unrest over joblessness and the expense of basic household goods.

'We need full clarity'

Abroad, various governments condemned the strike on the passenger jet and demanded a full investigation.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he told Rouhani that Iran's admission was an important step in providing answers for families, but that more must be done.

"A full and complete investigation must be conducted," Trudeau said. "We need full clarity on how such a horrific tragedy could have occurred."

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau held a news conference in Ottawa on Saturday, saying Iran must take "full responsibility" and that a full and complete investigation must be conducted.

In their conversation, he said Rouhani promised further investigation into the circumstances surrounding the plane crash.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the crash investigation should continue and the "perpetrators" should be brought to justice. He said Iran should compensate victims' families — Prime Minister Oleksiy Honcharuk had separately said Ukraine would pay 200,000 hryvnia each to families (about $11,000 Cdn) — and he requested "official apologies through diplomatic channels."

Zelensky thanked the U.S, Britain, Canada and others for information about the crash and their support. He says that support "undoubtedly helped" push Iran to acknowledge its responsibility for the crash.

Trudeau says Iran must take 'full responsibility' after admitting its missiles brought down PS752'It was clearly a war zone': Aviation experts question why Flight PS752 was cleared to fly

The crash killed 11 Ukrainians.

The Ukrainian airline criticized Iran's decision to leave its airspace open despite the hostilities.

"It's absolutely irresponsible," Ukraine International Airlines vice president Ihor Sosnovskiy told reporters. "There must be protection around ordinary people. If they are shooting somewhere from somewhere, they are obliged to close the airport."

Watch: Why flight 752 could take off amid missile strikes


Watch
Why Flight 752 could take off amid missile strikes

If Iran was firing missiles at U.S. military bases in Iraq that night, why was Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 able to take off? CBC News’s Susan Ormiston looks for answers. 2:08

Protesters In Tehran Call For Justice Over Iran’s Downing Of Ukrainian Plane

By RFE/RL January 11, 2020 

Protesters gathering in front of Amir Kabir university in Tehran.
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Protesters outside a university in Tehran have called for justice after Iran admitted it mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane on January 8.

“Resignation is not enough," protesters chanted outside Amir Kabir university on January 11 while demanding a trial for those responsible for the downing of the plane that killed all 176 people on board.

Amateur videos posted on social media also showed protesters chanting “dishonorable” in an apparent reference to Iranian authorities, who finally admitted that a missile fired by its forces caused the crash.

The authorities announcement -- coming after repeated denials -- left many Iranians in shock and grief.

Amirali Hajizadeh, the head of the aerospace division of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), said on January 11 that his unit accepts “full responsibility” for the tragedy.

In comments aired by state TV, he said that when he learned about the downing of the plane, “I wished I was dead.”

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei expressed his “deep sympathy” to the families of the 176 victims and called on the armed forces to "pursue probable shortcomings and guilt in the painful incident.”

Nearly half of those killed were Iranian citizens while many others were ethnic Iranians living in other countries.With files from Reuters and CBC News

Iran police disperse student air crash protesters: news agency

BY AFP

Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a Saturday gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported.

AFP correspondents said hundreds of students had gathered early in the evening at Amir Kabir University, in downtown Tehran, to pay respects to those killed in the air disaster.

The tribute later turned into an angry demonstration.

The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.

Iran said on Saturday that the Ukraine International Airlines Boeing 737 was "unintentionally" shot down on Wednesday shortly after taking off from Tehran's main airport.

All 176 people on board died, mostly Iranians and Canadians, many of whom were students.

Fars, which is close to conservatives, said the protesting students chanted "destructive" and "radical" slogans.

The news agency said some of the students tore down posters of Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general killed on January 3 in a US drone strike on Baghdad.

Fars published pictures of demonstrators gathered around a ring of candles during the tribute and a picture of a torn poster bearing the image of a smiling Soleimani.

It said that police "dispersed" them as they left the university and blocked streets, causing a traffic jam.

In an extremely unusual move, state television mentioned the protest, reporting that the students shouted "anti-regime" slogans.

A video purportedly of the protest circulated online Saturday evening showing police firing tear gas at protesters and a man getting up after apparently being hit in the leg by a projectile.

It was not possible to verify the location of the video, or when it was filmed.

Iran's acknowledgement on Saturday that the plane had been shot down in error came after officials had for days categorically denied Western claims that it had been struck by a missile.

The aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards accepted full responsibility.

But Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said the missile operator acted independently, shooting down the Boeing 737 after mistaking it for a "cruise missile".

Protests in Tehran after Iran admitted shooting down plane

Videos and comments on social media show angry Iranians calling on leadership to resign over plane crash incident.

Protesters raise slogans to show their sympathy to victims 

of the plane crash in Tehran [Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA/Reuters]

MORE ON IRANTruth about Iran plane crash could not be hidden: ZelenskyytodayIran says it 'unintentionally' shot down plane: Latest updatestodayIran's retaliation is not overtodayProtests in Tehran after Iran admitted shooting down planetoday

A group of Iranian protesters has demanded Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei step down after Tehran said its military mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian plane, killing all 176 people on board.

"Commander-in-chief [Khamenei] resign, resign," videos posted on Twitter showed hundreds of people chanting in front of Tehran's Amir Kabir University on Saturday.

Others on Twitter asked why the plane was allowed to take off when tensions in Iran were so high.

More:
US believes Iran accidentally shot down Ukraine plane: Reports
'No survivors': Ukrainian jet crashes in Iran with 176 on board
'Disastrous mistake': Iran admits it shot down Iranian plane

Fars news agency reported that Iranian police dispersed students that were chanting "radical" slogans during the gathering in Tehran.

The students chanted slogans denouncing "liars" and demanded the resignation and prosecution of those responsible for downing the plane and allegedly covering up the accidental action.

Fars said the protesting students chanted "destructive" and "radical" slogans.

Earlier on Saturday, Iran said its military had shot down the Ukrainian plane, calling it a "disastrous mistake".

The military claimed air defences were fired in error during an alert which was imposed after Iranian missile struck US targets in Iraq.

Iran denied for days after Wednesday's crash that it brought down the plane, although a top Revolutionary Guards commander on Saturday said he had told authorities about the unintentional missile strike the day it happened.

BREAKING:Public mourning gatherings turn into protests in #Iran. Angry crowds chanting, "Death to the liars."#IranPlaneCrash #UkrainePlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/20jPNia6WJ— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 11, 2020

Speaking from Tehran, Al Jazeera Dorsa Jabbari said: "There is a lot of anger. Iranians are demanding justice and accountability. Many people including families of the victims are in shock. They do not understand why their government would have lied to them for this long."

"Vigils that were held near Amir Kabir University quickly turned into anti-government protests with people calling for the IRGC to leave the country," she said.

Iran's leadership last faced mass protests in November following the rise in petrol prices.
Condemnations

Foreign governments have condemned Iran's action, with Ukraine demanding compensation and a United States official calling the downing "reckless".

The United Kingdom said Tehran's admission was an important first step and urged a de-escalation in tensions.

Supreme leader Khamenei, until now silent about the crash, said information should be made public, while top officials and the military issued apologies.

What caused a Ukranian plane to crash in Tehran?

But the state television suggested revealing the truth might be used by the "enemies of Iran", usually a reference to the US and Israel.

The crash heightened international pressure on Iran after months of friction with the US and tit-for-tat attacks.

A US drone strike killed a top Iranian military commander in Iraq on January 3, prompting Tehran to fire at US targets on Wednesday.

Experts said mounting international scrutiny would have made it all but impossible to hide signs of a missile strike in any investigation.

They said Iran may have felt a U-turn was better than battling rising criticism abroad and growing grief and anger at home, as many victims were Iranians with dual nationality.
Rare apology

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), in a rare step, apologised to the nation and accepted full responsibility for the plane crash.

Senior Guards commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh said he had informed Iran's authorities on Wednesday about the unintentional strike, a comment that raised questions about why officials had publicly denied it for so long.

Speaking on state television, he said he wished he "could die" when he heard the news about the incident.

Ukraine demanded an official apology and compensation. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for "a complete and thorough investigation" with Iran's full cooperation.

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif wrote on Twitter that "human error at time of crisis caused by US adventurism led to disaster", citing an initial armed forces investigation into the crash.

A military statement said the plane flew close to a sensitive Revolutionary Guards site at a time of high alert.

But Ukraine said the plane was in a normal flight corridor. Iran's Civil Aviation Organisation also said the airliner had not veered off its normal course.

Ukraine International Airlines said Iran should have closed the airport, adding that it received no indication it faced a threat and was cleared for take-off.

Analysts said an investigation would almost certainly have revealed signs on the smashed fuselage of a missile strike.

"There's nothing you can do to cover it up or hide it," said Anthony Brickhouse, an air safety expert at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and former US National Transportation Safety Board investigator. "Evidence is evidence."

The disaster echoed a 1988 incident, when a US warship shot down an Iranian airliner, killing 290 people. While Washington claimed it was an accident, Tehran said it was intentional.

Iran's 'Unforgivable Mistake' Downing Jet Elicits Furor At Home And Abroad


January 11, 2020
COLIN DWYER

Mourners gathered for a candlelight vigil Saturday in Iran's

 capital, Tehran, to remember the victims of the Ukrainian

 plane crash.Ebrahim Noroozi/AP

Less than a day after Iran finally acknowledged that its armed forces unintentionally brought down a Ukrainian jetliner, Iranian authorities' admission of the "unforgivable mistake" has had major reverberations — both in Iran's capital, Tehran, where demonstrators crowded local universities Saturday, and around a stunned world.

"The fact that Iran has now taken responsibility for the downing of that aircraft means that it is likely that they will be full participants and fully allow a credible, independent international investigation with all partners involved," Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told a news conference Saturday.

"We still have work to do to ensure that happens," he added, "but the question of responsibility, I think, takes us a step forward towards truly having a very credible and thorough investigation."

The prime minister's comments came two days after he first revealed Canada's suspicion that an Iranian missile system shot down the plane near Tehran early Wednesday. Of the 176 people who were killed aboard the aircraft, 57 were Canadian nationals.

"I had a chance to sit with some of the families of the victims," Trudeau said Saturday. "They are hurt, angry and grieving. They want answers. They want justice. What Iran has admitted to is very serious. Shooting down a civilian aircraft is horrific. Iran must take full responsibility. Canada will not rest until we get the accountability, justice and closure that the families deserve."

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau addresses a news conference Saturday in Ottawa, flanked by high-level ministers. Trudeau called the Iranian admission a "step forward," but noted there are lots of questions still to be answered.Dave Chan/AFP via Getty Images

Canadians were far from the only passengers who on board. Most of the passengers on board Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 were Iranian. Demonstrators there turned out in droves Saturday to mourn the victims and protest the actions of their own government, which spent days forcefully denying the missile strike before reversing course with its admission.

NATIONAL SECURITY
Ukrainian Plane Crash In Iran: Here's What The Available Evidence Shows

WORLD
Iran Says It Shot Down Ukrainian Jetliner By Mistake

The Iranian government, already beleaguered with recent protests over a spike in fuel prices, enjoyed an upswell of popular support after a U.S. drone strike killed a prominent Iranian military commander in Baghdad last week. The killing of Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who enjoyed a towering reputation among Iranians, elicited massive rallies of mourners and expressions of support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Earlier this week, Khamenei and the Iranian military retaliated for Soleimani's killing with a series of missile strikes on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. troops. The attacks, which resulted in no casualties at the bases, came within hours of the Ukrainian jetliner's crash.

Now, the downing of that plane threatens to unravel the broad domestic support Iran's government enjoyed just one week ago. Circulating on social media Saturday were videos of angry protesters, many of whom took aim at Khamenei with chants of "shameless" and "death to the dictator," according to Reuters.

Tehran: University students chanting “Soleimani is a murderer. His leader, Ali Khamenei is also a murderer.” Protest by thousands of Iranians in Tehran burst the propaganda balloon of the regime regarding Qassem Soleimani’s elimination. #Iran #IranPlaneCrash Via #MEK network. pic.twitter.com/n0hmasMSgj— Shahin Gobadi (@gobadi) January 11, 2020

Other images depicted security forces attempting to disperse the throng by firing canisters of tear gas and manhandling demonstrators.

And here comes the tear gas-> #Tehran, #Iran, #UkranianPlaneCrash #IranPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/8ka3USC04l— Bahman Kalbasi (@BahmanKalbasi) January 11, 2020

"Why should I vote for this regime? I don't trust them at all," one protester told Reuters. "They lied to us about the plane crash. Why should I trust them when they don't trust people enough to tell the truth?"

Iran newspaper, the official daily publication of the government of Iran, also released a cover story listing the names of the victims and featuring, in bold white lettering, the word "Unforgivable."



صفحه نخست روزنامه ایران
یکشنبه ۲۲ دی ماه ۱۳۹۸

نابخشودنی..

*تیتر یک «روزنامه ایران» پس از اعلام علت سقوط سه روز پیش هواپیمای اوکراینی

*همراه با گرامیداشت یاد و نام قربانیان پرواز هواپیمایی اوکراین باانتشار اسامی تمام جانباختگان ایرانی و خارجی در صفحه اول pic.twitter.com/BEz8aTE9nd— روزنامه ایران (@IranNewspaper) January 11, 2020

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who has been taking a close interest in the investigation into the causes of the crash, said he spoke over the phone Saturday with his Iranian counterpart, Hassan Rouhani.

Zelenskiy said Rouhani, who initiated the call, personally apologized for the tragedy, while the Ukrainian leader insisted on the speedy identification and return of the bodies of the 11 Ukrainians on board.

"Recognizing the 'missile version' as the cause of the disaster paved the way for its further investigation without any delay and obstruction," Zelenskiy said in a statement released Saturday. "I look forward to further constructive cooperation with Iran in accordance with international law."

Iran admits it 'unintentionally' shot down Ukrainian plane (13:30)
An Iranian commander said 'I wish I could die' after Tehran accepted responsibility for shooting down Ukrainian Airlines flight 752

Ukraine's president wants a 'full admission of guilt' and compensation from Iran after it shot down a commercial plane

Trump doesn't want to go to war, he just wants to look tough, even if it puts US troops in danger



Justin Trudeau toughens his stand on the world stage as he demands justice over plane downed by Iran
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau emerged this week from a long holiday break to face a tragedy that may recast his nation's role on the global stage ...

Iran's Raisi pokes Washington's eye from Latin America

Analysis: The Iranian president's tour of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua is designed to show that Tehran has strategic ties in the US's 'backyard' and that its influence is not limited to the Middle East.

Analysis
Giorgio Cafiero
13 June, 2023

On 11 June, President Ebrahim Raisi kicked off his first Latin America tour since coming to office. His three stops will be in Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. The left-wing governments of these countries share Iran’s desire to challenge US hegemony in the Western Hemisphere and the Middle East.

In many ways, this tour is highly symbolic. One of the aims of Raisi and the Islamic Republic is to send a strong message to the US: Iran has friends in its ‘backyard’, and they are willing to defy Washington.

“Raisi wants to show that his administration has strategic ties in the US’s southern hemisphere and that Tehran’s axis of resistance is not limited to the Middle East,” explained Dr Sanam Vakil, deputy director of the Middle East North Africa program at Chatham House, in an interview with The New Arab.

“For Raisi personally the trip gives him a few more stamps in his little-used passport and offers him an opportunity to show some foreign policy influence inside the ever competitive and divided Iranian system.”

Iran’s relationships with anti-hegemonic actors in Latin America should be analysed within the context of South-South solidarity. As Iran and certain Latin American countries share a history of struggling with US sanctions and Washington’s interference in their internal affairs, they have much common cause in terms of pushing for a more multipolar and less West-centric world order.


"Raisi wants to show that his administration has strategic ties in the US's southern hemisphere and that Tehran's axis of resistance is not limited to the Middle East"

Tehran’s ties with Caracas, Managua, and Havana are not new. During Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s presidency (2005-13), the Islamic Republic put energy into its ties with Latin America’s left-wing governments. Ahmadinejad held meetings with Bolivia’s Evo Morales, Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Cuba’s Fidel and Raul Castro, Ecuador’s Rafael Correa, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega, and Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.

Iran became much less focused on Latin America when Hassan Rouhani was in office (2013-21). But now Raisi’s administration is taking steps to put energy back into Tehran’s Latin America foreign policy.

“This is a continuation of a policy begun under the Ahmadinejad administration to show the US that if it insists on keeping a large military presence in the Persian Gulf, Iran can also play in the US backyard,” said Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center in Washington and a lecturer in international affairs at George Washington University, in an interview with TNA.

“We have seen a pattern in Iranian foreign policy in which hardline elements seek to prove that Iran can prosper without relations with the United States, by investing in political and economic relations with states in the Global South,” Dr Trita Parsi, the executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told TNA.

“The Ahmadinejad government invested heavily in Latin America, while the Rouhani government focused primarily on the [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)], the US, and Europe. Iran under Raisi [is] shifting back to a strategy centred on non-Western countries.”
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Scoring rhetorical points and poking the US in its eyes in the company of countries in the Western Hemisphere is one of the key motivations behind Raisi’s Latin America tour.

“Such performances are also a way for the Islamic Republic to try to promote the narrative, at home and abroad, that it is not isolated, and that its resistance policies have support all over the world,” Dr Thomas Juneau, an associate professor at the University of Ottawa’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, said in a TNA interview.

Venezuela

Caracas is likely the most important leg of Raisi’s tour. Of these three Latin American nations, Iran’s ties to Venezuela are the most substantive. Iranian-Venezuelan cooperation is across multiple domains, including energy, agriculture, education, health, science, technology, mining, petrochemicals, tourism, shipping, and culture.

While in Caracas on 12 June, the Iranian president said that his visit to Caracas is aimed at boosting bilateral trade from $3 billion to $20 billion. During his visit, Iran and Venezuela announced 25 new deals between the two countries. Raisi told the press that the Islamic Republic and Venezuela share “common interests, common visions, and common enemies” while declaring that “the relationship between Iran and Venezuela is not a normal diplomatic relationship, but a strategic relationship”.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro asserted that “Iran is playing a starring role as one of the most important emerging powers in the new world” and that the two nations together will be “invincible”.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi attend the Venezuela - Iran Joint Commission in Caracas, Venezuela on 12 June 2023. [Getty]

When looking at the history of warm relations between Tehran and Caracas, a good starting point is 1960. That year Iran and Venezuela became two of OPEC’s five Founding Fathers. Fast forward to the 21st century and during the years in which Ahmadinejad and Chavez were in office, there was a lot of solidarity in the bilateral relationship.

When Ahmadinejad made his fourth visit to the South American country in June 2009, Chavez hailed him as a “gladiator of anti-imperialist struggles” and condemned Israel as “the murderous arm of the Yankee empire”.

The relationship has gone beyond warm words and strong rhetoric. During Ahmadinejad’s presidency, institutions such as Venezuela Banco Internacional de Desarrollo and the Banco Binacional Irani-Venezolano enabled the Iranians to make investments in Venezuela, which gave Iran a foothold in the Southern American country’s banking system.

Tehran and Venezuela have entered energy deals with the Iranians repairing refineries and other energy facilities in Venezuela. The two countries have done oil swaps. There have also been direct flights between Caracas and Tehran. Last year, Maduro met with Iran’s supreme leader in Tehran and the two countries signed a 20-year cooperation plan.

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A 2010 Pentagon report claimed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) was deepening its influence in Venezuela, though Chavez denied the validity of that report. Also, last year, the Israeli Defence Minister accused Iran of sending armed drones to the South American country.

Regarding the true nature of military ties between Tehran and Caracas, what constitutes fact versus fiction is not always clear. Most of the hype about Venezuela’s ties to Iran’s military and Hezbollah comes from anti-Iran neo-conservative hawks in the US and right-wing Venezuelans who lobby Washington to take a tougher stance against Caracas.

Both groups frequently exaggerate the security threat to the US posed by the Iran-Venezuela relationship. As Slavin explained, “[Iranian-Venezuelan] military cooperation is mostly token”.

Nicaragua

Iran’s relationship with Nicaragua’s left-wing government strengthened significantly in the 2000s. During that decade, Iran and Nicaragua reopened their embassies following the withdrawal of their ambassadors in 1990. Ahmadinejad came to Nicaragua in January 2007 and toured the country’s shantytowns with Ortega. “We have to give each other a hand,” said the Iranian president when addressing Tehran-Managua relations. “We have common interests, common enemies and common goals.”

Two months later, Iran and Venezuela promised Nicaragua a $350 million investment in a deepwater seaport near Monkey Point on the country’s Atlantic coast along with highways, rails, and pipelines. Although the Iranians did not end up delivering, the plans showcased the extent to which Tehran sought more publicised ties with Managua.

"Iran under Raisi [is] shifting back to a strategy centred on non-Western countries"

“In our Iranian brothers we have a people, a government, a president willing to join with the Nicaraguan people in the great battle against poverty,” said Ortega during Ahmadinejad’s January 2007 visit to Nicaragua.

In September of that year, Nicaragua’s chief diplomat went to Iran and met with his Iranian, Cuban, and Syrian counterparts. That trip came three months after Ortega paid his first visit to Iran, from where he called for the establishment of a new global order to replace capitalism and imperialism.

Raisi’s visit to Nicaragua this week, which will be the first by an Iranian president since Ahmadinejad came to the country in 2007, will build on a visit paid to the impoverished Central American country by a high-level delegation led by Iran’s minister of petroleum, Javad Owji, in May 2022, and another by Iran’s foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian earlier this year.

Last year, Owji’s delegation signed a host of agreements with the Nicaraguan government across many domains from agriculture to oil, technology transfers to trade, and livestock to construction. One of the agreements entails the Iranians providing Nicaragua with technical support for the expansion of a refinery in the country. The two sides signed three memoranda of understanding and their discussions addressed ways to make their bilateral circumvent US sanctions.

The Ahmadinejad government invested heavily in Latin America. [Getty]

During that visit, Ortega expressed gratitude to the Islamic Republic for being in solidarity with “a country like Nicaragua, a small people in its territory, which has been invaded since the Spanish colonizers to the Yankee expansionists”.

When Tehran’s top diplomat was in Nicaragua in February 2023, just before going off to Venezuela, he met with Ortega, blasted Washington’s sanctions on Tehran, and paid a visit to a Nicaraguan oil refinery.

Notwithstanding political tensions between Washington and Managua, Nicaragua’s economy remains dependent on US markets for its exports. What remains to be seen is how much Iran and the Central American country can bolster their trade links.

Cuba

The Islamic Republic’s relationship with Cuba goes back to 1979 when Castro’s government embraced the Islamic revolution. Although Havana and Baghdad’s close ties required Castro to calibrate his island nation’s relationship with Tehran amid the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), the end of that conflict enabled Cuba and Iran to grow closer.

Both belonging to the Non-Aligned Movement, Iran and Cuba have shared anti-imperialist attitudes, which have created much warmth in their bilateral relationship with the two countries frequently standing up for the other in international fora.

During Mohammad Khatami’s presidency, Tehran provided the island nation with an annual credit line of €20 million, which increased to €200 million under Ahmadinejad.

"Over the years, there has been consistent exaggeration in some circles in the US, especially those holding more hawkish views, about Iran's presence and influence in Latin America"

In 2001, Castro paid his first visit to Iran. While in Tehran, the Cuban leader received an honorary degree from Tarbiat Modares University. “As you have witnessed, the Islamic Revolution has always sided with Cuba in its conflict with the United States, since we believe that your struggle is a just one,” said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during Castro’s visit.

“The secret of the resistance of our revolution against the pressure exerted on us by the global arrogance [the US] is the strong belief of our people, who adhere to Islam, and its principles and values.”

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finlay Institute of Vaccines in Havana and the Pasteur Institute of Iran jointly developed the Soberana-2 vaccine (known in Iran as the Pasteurcovac), which was reportedly 91.2 percent effective. Iranian authorities gave the jab emergency-use approval and, according to Cuban state-run media, Iran quickly became the first country aside from Cuba to produce the Soberana-2 vaccine on a serious scale.

Last month, a Cuban delegation came to Iran, resulting in the two countries signing 13 agreements in the domains of agriculture, banking, biotechnology, healthcare, sports, and trade.

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Beyond the rhetoric and symbolism

Iran clearly shares many geopolitical interests with Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba. There is much ideational synergy between these four countries. Yet, the reality is that Iran remains a heavily sanctioned country facing major economic problems at home. Therefore, some experts doubt that Iran’s economic ties with these three Latin American countries will expand much as an outcome of Raisi’s tour.

“Even during [Ahmadinejad’s] presidency, when there was a lot of emphasis on expanding relations with Latin American countries and many economic agreements were concluded, some of them were not implemented,” Dr Javad Heiran-Nia, the director of the Persian Gulf Studies Group at the Center for Scientific Research and Middle East Strategic Studies in Iran, told TNA.

“It seems that increasing economic and military cooperation is on the agenda during this tour. Whether all of them will be implemented is doubtful.”

Other experts have similar assessments. When asked what to expect from Raisi’s visits to these Latin American countries, Slavin responded, “A bunch of announcements about economic and other cooperation that will not amount to much in the future”.

Dr Juneau answered the same question by saying, “Promises of cooperation among anti-American actors, flashy rhetoric criticising American policies in Latin American and beyond, but in practice very few concrete deliverables”.

Kenneth Katzman, a Senior Fellow at the Soufan Center, told TNA, “You might see some announcements of Iran building some factories here and there. But, even if that’s accomplished, these are going to be very small facilities [which are] reasonably symbolic. It’s not going to develop the economies of any of these places”.

Some experts doubt that Iran's economic ties with these three Latin American countries will expand much as an outcome of Raisi's tour. [Getty]

The view from Washington

Even though Raisi’s Latin America tour will probably prove to be more about messaging, expressions of solidarity, and anti-US rhetoric, there are voices in Washington who have spent years raising alarm over Tehran’s clout in the Western Hemisphere.

Yet, in contrast to the last two Republican administrations - Bush 43 (2001-2009) and Trump (2017-21) - the Biden White House is not keen on making a huge fuss over Iranian inroads into Latin America.

“Over the years, there has been consistent exaggeration in some circles in the US, especially those holding more hawkish views, about Iran’s presence and influence in Latin America,” Dr Juneau told TNA. “In general, the Biden administration has not engaged in threat inflation about Iran as much as some of its predecessors. Ideally, its response to Raisi’s Latin American tour should be to mostly ignore it.”

Dr Parsi explained that “the Biden administration does not appear to buy into the hysteria among some Republicans who wildly inflate Iran's influence in Latin America and portray Tehran as a threat to US influence in the Western Hemisphere”.

Ultimately, it is important to avoid reading too much into Raisi’s Latin American tour. Although Iran does have influence in Latin America and Tehran’s relationships with a handful of anti-hegemonic actors in the region are brotherly, it would be inaccurate to interpret these visits and meetings as threatening the security of Western countries.

“You might see more announcements of Iranian investment,” Katzman told TNA. “You might see some oil swapping arrangements [with Venezuela and] possible announcements of upcoming ports visits by Iranian ships. Some of these may happen, but they’re not a threat to the US in any way. They are just purely symbolic acts of defiance.”

Giorgio Cafiero is the CEO of Gulf State Analytics.
Follow him on Twitter: @GiorgioCafiero

Iran: alarm raised over ‘bloody’ crackdown on protesters in Kurdistan

Weronika Strzyżyńska and Haroon Janjua -TODAY- THE GUARDIAN

Rights groups have sounded the alarm over an intensifying crackdown by Iranian security forces against protesters in the western province of Kurdistan, as Tehran summoned the British ambassador in response to UK sanctions against the morality police.

Security forces in the provincial capital Sanandaj have used firearms and fired teargas “indiscriminately”, including into people’s homes, Amnesty International reported.

A female protester in the city told the Guardian that a “massacre” by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was taking place. “They have shut down the city and are slaughtering people inside with guns and bombs just because they are chanting for freedom,” she said.

Related: ‘The fire of our anger is still burning’: protesters in Iran speak out

Despite the authorities’ disruption of internet, videos showing apparent gunfire in Sanandaj have been posted online by the Norway-based human rights group Hengaw.

Hengaw said Iranian war planes had arrived at the city’s airport overnight and buses carrying special forces were on their way to the city from elsewhere in Iran.

On Monday – as protests sparked by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody entered their fourth week – Britain said it was imposing sanctions against the “morality police in its entirety”, as well as against Iran’s police commander and the head of the Basij militia, linked to the Revolutionary Guards.

The Iranian government responded by summoning the British ambassador to Iran, Simon Shercliff, to Tehran later the same day. Iran described the sanctions as “baseless” and accused the UK of interfering in its internal affairs.


The protests were sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody. 

Photograph: IRANWIRE/Reuters© Provided by The Guardian

Protests have been especially intense in Sanandaj in Kurdistan, Amini’s home region, where rights groups fear heavy casualties.

Related video: London rally urges UK gov't to back Iranian protests

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The New-York based Center for Human Rights in Iran said there was a risk of a similar situation in Sistan and Baluchistan province, in the south-east, where activists say more than 90 people have been killed since 30 September.

“The ruthless killings of civilians by security forces in Kurdistan province, on the heels of the massacre in Sistan and Baluchistan province, are likely preludes to severe state violence to come,” its director, Hadi Ghaemi, told Agence France-Presse.

In a new development on Monday, workers from Iran’s oil industry joined the demonstrations.

Footage posted on Twitter showed workers blocking the road to the Bushehr petrochemical plant in Assaluyeh, on the Gulf, and chanting “death to the dictator”. A regional official said the workers were protesting over wages and not the death of Mahsa Amini.

“The situation in Assaluyeh is really alarming,” the 23-year-old wife of an oil worker told the Guardian. “I am concerned about the safety of my husband. There is no way to communicate and reach him.”

The woman, who said she had previously burned her hijab in protest over Amini’s death, added: “We will throw the regime out through our continued struggle this time.”

Iran has the fourth largest reserves of crude oil in the world and the industry is key to its economy. Strikes of oil workers were a major factor in the success of the 1979 revolution.

“If these unrests continue and expand, especially if the energy sector joins the protests, the regime will irreversibly be in trouble,” Fatemeh Aman, senior fellow at the Washington based Middle East Institute, said from Erbil. “I don’t know if at this point there is a will within the establishment to reconcile, but even if there is, bloody crackdowns on ethnic minorities [like in Sanandaj] will make any reconciliation almost certainly impossible.”

The authorities have pinned the blame for the unrest and violence on a wide array of actors including armed Kurdish dissidents, American and Israeli agents, as well as “traitorous Iranians abroad”. No evidence of foreign involvement has been provided.

France’s foreign affairs minister, Catherine Colonna, said five French citizens had been detained by Iranian authorities, after a video of a French couple confessing to “spying” was aired in Iran.

A week prior, France urged its citizens to leave Iran saying they were at risk of arbitrary detentions.

Prompted by the repressions of protesters, EU is set to join the US, Britain, and Canada in imposing sanctions of Iranian security forces.

“The EU agreed yesterday the technical aspects of a sanctions package that will target those behind the repression,” Colonna said on Tuesday.

Iran’s crackdown on protests intensifies in Kurdish region

By JON GAMBRELL

TODAY

This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran intensified its crackdown Tuesday on Kurdish areas in the country’s west amid protests sparked by the death of a 22-year-old woman detained by the morality police as oil workers demonstrated at a key refinery, activists said.

Riot police fired into residential neighborhoods in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan province, as Amnesty International and the White House’s national security adviser criticized the violence targeting demonstrators angered by the death of Mahsa Amini.

Meanwhile, some oil workers Monday joined the protests at two key refinery complexes, for the first time linking an industry key to Iran’s theocracy to the unrest. Workers claimed another protest Tuesday in the crucial oil city of Abadan, with others calling for protests on Wednesday as well.

Iran’s government insists Amini was not mistreated, but her family says her body showed bruises and other signs of beating after she was detained for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code. Subsequent videos have shown security forces beating and shoving female protesters, including women who have torn off their mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

From the capital, Tehran, videos emerged showing students at two universities demonstrating and chanting. Some women and girls have marched through the streets without headscarves as the protests continue into a fourth week. The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 2009 Green Movement protests.

“There is just so much anger and frustration in the country that it’s hard to imagine that the current generation of protesters in Iran would be cowed just by the system resorting to its traditional iron fist and trying to put down protests,” said Ali Vaez, an analyst who covers Iran for the International Crisis Group.

Videos posted online by a Kurdish group called the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights showed darkened streets with apparent gunfire going off and a bonfire burning in Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Tehran.

Another showed riot police carrying shotguns moving in formation with a vehicle, apparently firing at homes.

A video posted later Tuesday purportedly showed a massive bullet hole inside the home of one Sanandaj resident, a hole that Hengaw alleged came from a heavy .50-caliber machine gun — the type often mounted on armored vehicles. Another video purportedly showed security forces randomly firing in the air while arresting someone there on Monday.

Videos later Tuesday showed protesters throwing stones and wielding clubs in the city as they confronted security forces, who fired tear gas into the crowd. Hengaw reported a “fierce conflict” there Tuesday night, as well as in the nearby cities of Baneh and Saqqez, Amini’s hometown.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran posted another video showing what it described as a phalanx of motorcycle-riding security forces moving through Sanandaj.

“They reportedly broke the windows of hundreds of cars in the Baharan neighborhood,” the center said.

Amini was Kurdish and her death has been felt particularly in Iran’s Kurdish region, where demonstrations began Sept. 17 at her funeral there after her death the day before.

Amnesty International criticized Iranian security forces for “using firearms and firing tear gas indiscriminately, including into people’s homes.” It urged the world to pressure Iran to end the crackdown as Tehran continues to disrupt internet and mobile phone networks “to hide their crimes.”

Iran did not immediately acknowledge the renewed crackdown in Sanandaj. However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British ambassador over the United Kingdom sanctioning members of the country’s morality police and security officials due to the crackdown.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the sanctions “arbitrary and baseless,” even while threatening to potentially take countermeasures against London.

Jake Sullivan, U.S. President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, similarly noted that “the world is watching what is happening in Iran.”

“These protestors are Iranian citizens, led by women and girls, demanding dignity and basic rights,” Sullivan wrote on Twitter. “We stand with them, and we will hold responsible those using violence in a vain effort to silence their voices.”

On Monday, workers held demonstrations in Abadan and Asaluyeh, a key point for Iran’s massive offshore natural gas field in the Persian Gulf it shares with Qatar.

Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency on Tuesday claimed the Asaluyeh demonstration was a strike over wages. Videos of the protests included workers chanting: “This is the bloody year Seyyed Ali will be overthrown,” referring to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei without his Shiite religious title of ayatollah. Workers also said several of their colleagues had been detained by authorities after their protests Tuesday.

On Tuesday, the Contractual Oil Workers Protest Organizing Council claimed another strike at Abadan, posting videos outside of the massive refinery complex in the city near the Iraqi border. The details in the videos correspond with each and to known features of the facility compared against satellite photos taken in recent months.

The council later called on other oil workers to join them in solidarity — potentially raising the stakes further. The council’s contractors typically build oil facilities, so their demonstrations haven’t affected Iran’s oil and gas production. Drawing in other workers potentially could change that.

It remains unclear how many people have been killed or arrested so far in the protests.

An Oslo-based group, Iran Human Rights, estimates at least 185 people have been killed. This includes an estimated 90 people killed by security forces in the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan amid demonstrations against a police officer accused of rape in a separate case. Iranian authorities have described the Zahedan violence as involving unnamed separatists, without providing details or evidence.

Iran’s judiciary spokesman Masoud Setayeshi reportedly said Tuesday that Iran has released some 1,700 people arrested in the recent demonstrations, without offering a total figure for those detained so far.

Meanwhile on Tuesday, Iranian government spokesman Ali Bahadori Jahromi alleged without providing evidence that U.S. sanctions affected Amini’s ability to get medicine for the chronic illnesses she faced. However, an Iranian government report Friday said that she was taking hydrocortisone and levothyroxine — two medicines made in Iran available in pharmacies in the country.

___

Associated Press writer Isabel DeBre in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

Protests in Iran over woman’s death reach key oil industry

By JON GAMBRELL

YESTERDAY

This is a locator map for Iran with its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Workers at refineries crucial for Iran’s oil and natural gas production protested Monday over the death of a 22-year-old woman, online videos appeared to show, escalating the crisis faced by Tehran.

The demonstrations in Abadan and Asaluyeh mark the first time the unrest surrounding the death of Mahsa Amini threatened the industry crucial to the coffers of Iran’s long-sanctioned theocratic government.

While it remains unclear if other workers will follow, the protests come as demonstrations rage on in cities, towns and villages across Iran over the Sept. 16 death of Amini after her arrest by the country’s morality police in Tehran. Early on Monday, the sound of apparent gunshots and explosions echoed through the streets of a city in western Iran, while security forces reportedly killed one man in a nearby village, activists said.

Iran’s government insists Amini was not mistreated, but her family says her body showed bruises and other signs of beating. Subsequent videos have shown security forces beating and shoving female protesters, including women who have torn off their mandatory headscarf, or hijab.

From the capital, Tehran, and elsewhere, online videos have emerged despite authorities disrupting the internet. Videos on Monday showed university and high school students demonstrating and chanting, with some women and girls marching through the streets without headscarves as the protests continue into a fourth week. The demonstrations represent one of the biggest challenges to Iran’s theocracy since the 2009 Green Movement protests.

Online videos analyzed by The Associated Press showed dozens of workers gathered at the refineries in Asaluyeh, some 925 kilometers (575 miles) south of Tehran, on the Persian Gulf. The vast complex takes in natural gas from the massive offshore natural gas field that Iran shares with Qatar.

In one video, the gathered workers — some with their faces covered — chant “shameless” and “death to the dictator.” The chants have been features across protests dealing with Amini’s death.

“This is the bloody year Seyyed Ali will be overthrown,” the protesters chanted, refusing to use the title ayatollah to refer to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. An ayatollah is a high-ranking Shiite cleric.

The details in the videos correspond with each and to known features of the facility compared against satellite photos taken Sunday.

Iran did not acknowledge any disruption at the facility, though the semiofficial Tasnim news agency described the incident as a salary dispute. Iran is one of the world’s top natural gas suppliers, just after the U.S. and Russia.

In Abadan, a city once home to the world’s largest oil refinery, videos also showed workers walking off the job. The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran cited a statement it said came from the Contractual Oil Workers Protest Organizing Council that called for a strike over “the suppression and killings.”

“We declare that now is the time for widespread protests and to prepare ourselves for nationwide and back-breaking strikes,” the statement said. “This is the beginning of the road and we will continue our protests together with the entire nation day after day.”

The violence early Monday in western Iran occurred in Sanandaj, the capital of Iran’s Kurdistan province, as well as in the village of Salas Babajani near the border with Iraq, according to a Kurdish group called the Hengaw Organization for Human Rights. Amini was Kurdish and her death has been felt particularly in Iran’s Kurdish region, where demonstrations began Sept. 17 at her funeral there.

Hengaw posted footage it described as smoke rising in one neighborhood in Sanandaj, with what sounded like rapid rifle fire echoing through the night sky. The shouts of people could be heard.

There was no immediate word if people had been hurt in the violence. Hengaw later posted a video online of what appeared to be collected shell casings from rifles and shotguns, as well as spent tear gas canisters

Authorities offered no immediate explanation about the violence early Monday in Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Tehran. Esmail Zarei Kousha, the governor of Iran’s Kurdistan province, alleged without providing evidence that unknown groups “plotted to kill young people on the streets” on Saturday, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported Monday.

Kousha also accused these unnamed groups that day of shooting a young man in the head and killing him — an attack that activists have roundly blamed on Iranian security forces. They say Iranian forces opened fire after the man honked his car horn at them. Honking has become one of the ways activists have been expressing civil disobedience — an action that has seen riot police in other videos smashing the windshields of passing vehicles.

In the village of Salas Babajani, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of Sanandaj, Iranian security forces repeatedly shot a 22-year-old man protesting there who later died of his wounds, Hengaw said. It said others had been wounded in the shooting.

It remains unclear how many people have been killed so far. State television last suggested at least 41 people had been killed in the demonstrations as of Sept. 24. There’s been no update from Iran’s government since.

An Oslo-based group, Iran Human Rights, estimates at least 185 people have been killed. This includes an estimated 90 people killed by security forces in the eastern Iranian city of Zahedan amid demonstrations against a police officer accused of rape in a separate case. Iranian authorities have described the Zahedan violence as involving unnamed separatists, without providing details or evidence.

Meanwhile, a prison riot has struck the city of Rasht, killing several inmates there, a prosecutor reportedly said. It wasn’t immediately clear if the riot at Lakan Prison was linked to the ongoing protests, though Rasht has seen heavy demonstrations in recent weeks since Amini’s death.

The semiofficial Mehr news agency quoted Gilan provincial prosecutor Mehdi Fallah Miri as saying, “some prisoners died because of their wounds as the electricity was cut (at the prison) because of the damage.” He also alleged prisoners refused to allow authorities access to those wounded.

Miri described the riot as breaking out in a wing of a prison housing death penalty inmates.

___

Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP.