Iranian women light cigarettes with burning photo of supreme leader | News World
Iranian women lit cigarettes with burning images of the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a bold act of defiance.
Videos and photos from the protest were shared and reposted thousands of times on various social media platforms.
Burning photos of the Supreme Leader is a serious offense under Iranian law, while women’s smoking has long been banned or discouraged across the country.
By combining the two laws and defying mandatory hijab laws, protesters are rejecting both state authority and strict social controls.
Observers say this type of protest is more difficult for authorities to suppress because it does not depend on the dispersal of large crowds.
The trend comes as Iran faces growing economic woes, sparking new protests across the country and a growing crisis of confidence in the country’s leaders.
The unrest has not reached the scale of protests three years ago, but authorities have reportedly killed dozens of people in response.
They also caused an Internet and telephone outage Thursday evening after the protests intensified, largely cutting the country off from the outside world.
Khamenei accused the protesters of acting on behalf of US President Donald Trump, saying the rioters were attacking public property and warning that Tehran would not tolerate people acting as “mercenaries for foreigners”.
Images released by state television overnight showed buses, cars and motorbikes on fire, as well as fires at metro stations and banks.
Protests erupted last month at Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, where traders denounced the collapse of the rial.
Unrest has since spread across the country as anger grows over soaring inflation.
Iran’s economy has been struggling since U.S. sanctions over its controversial nuclear program were reimposed in September and following the 12-day war with Israel.
Iranian rights organization Hengaw said a protest march in Zahedan, a town with a large Baloch population, was met with gunfire, leaving several injured.
Meanwhile, Iran’s divided opposition groups called for further protests on Friday, with Reza Pahlavi – the exiled son of the late ruling Shah – telling Iranians on social media: “The eyes of the world are on you. Take to the streets.
Iran has crushed larger waves of unrest in the past, but this time it faces a much weaker economy and growing international pressure.
Protesters chanted slogans such as “Death to the dictator” and praising the former monarchy toppled in 1979.
Although many women participated in the online cigarette lighting trend, the street protests, according to videos seen by the Reuters news agency, mainly featured young men.
Large numbers of women and men took to the streets in 2022 to protest the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody and the lack of freedom for women.
Mahsa was arrested for allegedly not wearing a hijab and authorities blamed her death on a heart attack. However, witnesses say she was severely beaten.
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