Iran protests: Water crisis demonstrations continue, with chants in capital

Several videos uploaded by social media users showed security forces using tear gas to disperse protesters, and the semi-official news agency Fars said “rioters” shot dead one policeman and injured another in the port city of Mahshahr in the Khuzestan province.

In the town of Izeh, a video showed demonstrators chanting “Reza Shah, bless your soul”, a reference to the king who founded the Pahlavi dynasty which was overthrown by the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

After various opposition groups and activists called for demonstrations to support the Khuzestan protesters, videos, which surfaced on late Tuesday and early Wednesday, showed women chanting “Down with the Islamic Republic” at a Tehran metro station. At night, some people in the capital vented their anger with chants against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Reuters could not independently authenticate the videos.


Iran’s ethnic Arab minority, who mostly live in the oil-rich Khuzestan province, have long said they face discrimination in the country. An Arab woman protester could be heard shouting at security forces in one video: “Sir! Sir! The demonstration is peaceful. Why do you shoot? No one took your land and water.”


