DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iranian shops in Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar and elsewhere in the country closed Tuesday as protests swept across the country. Two prominent soccer stars have also announced they will not be participating in the upcoming World Cup over the demonstrations. .
The store’s closure comes amid a three-day nationwide strike call to mark earlier protests in 2019 against Iran’s theocracy that ended in a violent crackdown by the authorities. The series came after the death of a 22-year-old woman in custody of the country’s morality police in September, despite activists recording at least 344 deaths and 15,820 arrests so far. demonstration continues.
At the protest, both high-profile former players Ali Daei and Javad Nekounam said they declined FIFA’s invitation to attend the World Cup in Qatar, where Iran will play.
Shuttered storefronts were seen in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday. However, some shops remained open due to the presence of heavy security on the streets.
In the Grand Bazaar, the heart of Tehran, which has served as the political vanguard of Persian dynasties for hundreds of years, the storefronts are closed and a lone woman and a man pushing a cart walk the narrow alleyways. A feral cat was nibbling on the trash in one of his quiet dens.
A video taken on Tuesday showed a crowd gathering outside the closed shop, with some chanting, “This year is the year of blood. Seyyed Ali will fall!” The chant, heard in , refuses to use the title ayatollah to refer to Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei, a high-ranking Shiite cleric who targeted Ayatollah Khamenei. Such calls could result in death sentences in Iran’s closed-door revolutionary courts.
Other online videos also showed sporadic demonstrations of closed stores elsewhere in the country.
As with other protests after Mahsa Amini’s death on September 16, the demonstration appeared largely leaderless. Activists have called for a nationwide strike against buying or selling anything to mark protests in Iran following government-subsidized petrol price hikes in 2019. They say at least 321 people have died in the ensuing crackdown.
The strike could put increasing pressure on the Iranian government, and so far the demands of the demonstrators have been dismissed as a foreign conspiracy by the enemy, in contrast to the outpouring of public discontent.
Already, US officials say they have received intelligence from Saudi Arabia that an Iranian attack on the kingdom may occur.The U.S. Navy said Tuesday it had intercepted 70 tons of missile fuel parts on a ship bound for Yemen from Iran.
If the demonstrations escalate into strikes and boycotts, it could put more pressure on the Iranian government. The Iranian government is already seeing its economy suffer under international sanctions after the collapse of a nuclear deal with world powers. So far, however, it has yet to affect production in the critical oil and gas industry.
Separately, the United Nations Office for Human Rights called on the Iranian government to immediately release thousands of people detained for participating in peaceful protests.
The Iranian theocracy has sought to solidify its support in demonstrations, holding rallies to commemorate the November 4, 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran and the subsequent hostage-taking.
It also focuses on Iran’s next appearance at the World Cup in Qatar. and is clearly supported by warriors from Persia’s past.
However, the two prominent former stars have said they will not go to the match in Qatar. He said he refused to go when he was “stricken with grief.”
“I want to stay with my compatriots and offer my condolences to all who have lost loved ones,” said the former centre-forward.
Another star, Javad Nekounam, has likewise withdrawn from the World Cup, Iran’s semi-official news agency ISNA reported.
