CAIRO (AP) — Standing on a balcony in Iran’s capital, Tehran, the teacher shouted into the darkness: “Death to the dictator!” and “Khamenei, murderer!” On a recent night, she joined the chants coming from windows and rooftops around her relatively affluent neighborhood.
Some voices in the darkness echoed the slogans in support of the 47-year-old Islamic Republic of Iran.
“Shut up! Suffocate!” the teacher recalled to The Associated Press, as her neighbors shouted in response, drowning out the pro-government voices. She requested anonymity for her safety.
Iranians across the country remain immersed in shock, sadness and fear after massive nationwide protests were met with the worst crackdown under the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Thousands were killed and tens of thousands are believed to have been arrested.
But the mood of defiance remains. Intense anger against Iran’s rulers is evident in videos shared on social media and in conversations with protesters. Meanwhile, three protesters contacted by The Associated Press said it was futile what they could do after hundreds of thousands of people bravely took to the streets only to be met with overwhelming violence. The protesters all requested anonymity for fear of reprisal or arrest.
U.S. threats to strike Iran have also heightened uncertainty. The United States has deployed warships and fighter jets nearby even as it negotiates with Iran over its nuclear program.
This defiance manifests itself in the form of nightly chanting from windows and rooftops, a ritual that has characterized past waves of protests.
This was also evident at the memorial service for the victims 40 days ago. This commemoration is called “chehelom,” Persian for “fortieth anniversary,” and is traditionally held by the family of the deceased. But in turbulent times, Chehlom may have political significance.
Commemorations turn into protests
This week marks 40 days since the worst days of the crackdown on January 8 and 9, and multiple videos circulating online show 40-day ceremonies taking place in towns across Iran. Some events appeared to attract hundreds of people, often chanting anti-government slogans.
Typically, these events are festive, with friends and relatives of slain protesters singing and throwing flowers — a departure from the solemn atmosphere encouraged by the state at official ceremonies. Most people avoid calling the dead “shahids” or “martyrs,” a term with Islamic religious connotations. Instead, they use the term “javid nam,” a Persian phrase meaning “long live the name.”
Video released this week and verified by The Associated Press showed hundreds of people chanting “Death to Khamenei” and shaking their fists at the robe of Alireza Seydi, the 16-year-old boy killed on Jan. 8 at the main cemetery in the western Iranian town of Abu Danan. Video showed security forces opening fire from an armored vehicle, raising a cloud of suspected tear gas and sending men and women fleeing.
During the 1979 Islamic revolution that overthrew the king and brought the Islamic Republic to power, 40 days of commemorations of slain protesters often devolved into rallies that security forces tried to suppress, resulting in new deaths — and then new protests 40 days later.
Posts on social media reported that security forces were trying to restrict people from attending some Chehlom ceremonies.
“For every person killed, a thousand people stand behind him,” hundreds of people gathered in the eastern city of Mashhad on Tuesday to commemorate Hamid Mahdawi’s Chekhlom, according to a video verified by The Associated Press. When several police officers harassed some people commemorating Mahadawi, the firefighter who was shot dead during protests in January, the crowd chanted “Shameless! Shameless!”
The government set up its own “chehelom” for the victims, who the Revolutionary Guards described in a statement as victims of violence by foreign-backed armed “terrorist” groups exploiting “legitimate public demands”. The statement said the 40-day commemoration was “an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to national unity.”
‘Mass depression’ and anger
“People are not only sad, but angry. Everyone is very angry. Everyone is waiting for some kind of explosion,” said a resident of Karaj, a city outside Tehran.
He participated in street marches on January 8 and 9 and said five of his relatives and family friends were killed when security forces opened fire on protesters.
The human rights activist news agency has so far put the death toll at more than 7,000 and believes the death toll is much higher. The Iranian government released its only death toll on January 21, saying 3,117 people had died; it described many of the protesters as “terrorists.”
“There is no one around me who does not know the people who were killed, arrested or injured,” said the 26-year-old teacher in Tehran. She said two of her acquaintances were killed and the husband of a colleague was arrested.
Iranians are also grappling with a rapidly deteriorating economy as their currency loses value.
Karaj residents say prices are rising every day. “We are approaching economic collapse,” he said. “Buying fruit has become a luxury.”
A resident of the tourism industry in northern Tehran who participated in last month’s protest said the bazaar would usually be packed with shoppers as the Persian New Year approaches in March, but not now.
“It’s a combination of sadness, lack of money and inflation,” he said, describing people in the capital as being in a state of “massive depression”.
Such sentiments have weakened Iran’s usually vibrant cultural scene. A prominent actress has posted that she will no longer accept new roles “in this bloody land.”
Alireza Ostad Haji, a referee in a popular televised strongman competition, posted his condolences on Instagram to “all the mourning families” and resigned from two national sports committees. He burst into tears when talking about slain former bodybuilding champion Masood Zatpawar. “He’s not a terrorist, he’s a protester,” he said.
‘They have no choice’
There are also concerns that street protests will not bring about change in the face of widespread government violence.
Karaj residents and Tehran protesters working in the tourism industry have expressed support for Reza Pahlavi, the ousted king’s son and the self-proclaimed leader of Iran’s fractured opposition in exile. Pahlavi encouraged the protests and called on the United States to attack Iran.
The level of support for Pahlavi surrounding Iran is immeasurable. But chants in support of him were common during January’s wave of protests, a marked change from the past when the king’s son received little attention at home or was seen as out of touch.
Some have even taken a step previously unthinkable to many – expressing hopes of an attack on the United States.
“Every night, every hour, I hope to hear the sound of a strike (in the United States),” said the protester, who works in the tourism industry. “We can no longer fight machine guns with our fists.” He said many of his friends who took to the streets with him in January said they would not do so again because of state violence.
The teacher said that while she had participated in past protests, she did not attend in January because she did not like the way Pahlavi’s support was expressed.
But she said some of her friends who were also opposed to the king’s son also joined the January protests and even repeated the slogan: “Long live the king!”
“People have become so tired that they have no choice,” she said.
She fears a U.S. attack could bring war, civil unrest and even more bloodshed.
“I fear there will be more massacres,” she said.
___
Chehayeb reported from Beirut. Associated Press writer Lee Keith in Cairo contributed to this report.
