The presence of Iran’s national football team in Qatar’s World Cup has sparked controversy as the country is convulsed with antigovernment protests and many people expect athletes to support the uprising.
The Iranian squad – nicknamed Team Melli – met with President Ebrahim Raisi hours before departing for Doha, irking many Iranians who did not expect the players to be so blithe about the current uprising across the country. They have been heavily criticized on Twitter since the meeting.
During the nationwide protests on Tuesday, people also set fire to a government banner of the national team.
During the past few days, Iranian legendary striker Ali Daei and outspoken star Ali Karimi, who has been charged in absentia for supporting the protests, said they rejected invitations by Qatar to watch the World Cup matches.
Declining the invitation, Ali Karimi told President Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in a letter released on Tuesday that “As you know, the people of Iran are currently going through a very difficult time. The international media largely ignores our struggles. Right now, there are more important issues for me than Football and I want to be with my people and be their voice.”
During a press conference earlier on Tuesday, national team coach Carlos Queiroz claimed the players are free to join in the protests while they are playing at the World Cup in Qatar but must do so within the rules of the tournament.
“You express yourself in football according to those principles and values. Everybody has the right to express themselves,” he said.
Addressing a reporter who asked about the current situation in Iran, Queiroz said, “You guys are used to kneeling in the games and some people agree, some people don't agree with that, and in Iran it's exactly the same, but it is out of question to think that the Iran national team is suffering any sort of issues like that, the players only have one thing in mind, which is to fight for that dream to be in the second round.” The Iranian national team has failed in its five previous World Cup appearances to reach the second round.
Queiroz was asked whether he was proud to coach a country that repressed women. In a terse retort, the coach asked the reporter how much he would pay him to answer the question, before adding the reporter should think about the issue of immigration in the UK first.
The Iranian government is extremely worried about protests by fans or even players during the games and wants to make sure people will not see any manifestations on satellite TV. The state broadcaster can always cut away during live matches.
It is most probably for this reason that the Qatari government has denied accreditation to Iran International’s journalists from traveling there to cover the World Cup.
Although FIFA has issued ID cards for our correspondents, the Qatari interior ministry denied accreditation.
Last month, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi expressed concern over possible problems that may happen during the FIFA World Cup, tacitly referring to people chanting slogans against the Islamic Republic during matches or players making statements about the situations in Iran. Earlier in November, he tasked the Foreign Ministry to contact Qatari officials regarding the issue to find ways “to predict and prevent possible problems."
Team Melli players covered up their national team badge when they played two warm-up internationals in September, which was interpreted as a sign of support for the protests, but other national teams and athletes have been more vocal and direct in their support for the protests.
In less than a month, the pace of the athletes showing support for the protests has accelerated as the Iranian football, beach football, waterpolo, basketball, and sitting volleyball teams refused to sing along with the anthem, which is customary in almost all international competitions. Now with the biggest sporting event on the horizon, the regime is resorting to whatever it can to stifle the voices of dissent. Authorities have made serious threats against athletes and other celebrities to stop them from public displays of solidarity with protesters but to no avail.
By early evening, protesters had come out at many locations in Tehran, blocking streets and putting large trash containers on fire. Similar scenes were reported from other cities.
The Tuesday protests were widespread and were the largest in the past one month. Still, we do not have a full picture of all gatherings and demonstrations across the country or number of any possible casualties. Two to three protester deaths have been reported but too soon to be certain.
Anonymous activists regularly issuing calls for demonstrations, announced a three-day period of protests starting Tuesday, November 15, the day when in 2019 security forces opened fire with military weapons on young Iranians who had come out to protest a sudden hike in gasoline prices.
In the next 3-4 days, the Revolutionary Guard, its Basij militia and police indiscriminately fired at people in the streets, even killing some bystanders. More than 10,000 were jailed without due process of law. Reuters at the time reported that Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei had personally authorized security forces to use every means to put down the uprising.
The current protests that started in mid-September after Mahsa Amini, a young woman was killed in the custody of ‘morality police’, have lasted nearly two months, the longest and most serious challenge to the Islamic Republic, which has one of the largest trained and well-equipped suppression machines in the world.
An IRGC commander, Gholamreza Soleimani Tuesday announced the “Week of the Basij” and said 900,000 members of the paramilitary militia will participate in drills. This is an ominous sign of more potential bloodshed as protesters come out to mark the three-day anniversary.
So far, security forces have killed more than 340 protesters, according to human rights monitors and arrested an estimated 14,000 people. Government officials have widely threatened to execute many detainees, and a court in Tehran on Sunday sentenced the first protester to death, without a transparent trial and following due process of law.
By noon on Tuesday, people were demonstrating in Tehran’s bazaar as reports began to pour in about protests and strikes in other parts of the country. But larger protests are expected in the evening, as protesters prefer to gather in darkness.
Below, we will provided live coverage of events, by posting brief updates and videos. We divided content based on provinces to make it easier for you to follow. The most recent events are usually at the top of each heading.
The coverage ended at 01:18 Iran time on Wednesday, November 16.
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TEHRAN
Protesters have blocked a main street in west of Tehran to prevent security forces from using their vehicles.
At Tehran's Revolution square protesters set fire to a motorcycle belonging to special riot troops.
Security forces attack people in a Tehran metro station Tuesday.
Protests Tuesday evening in Saadat Abad district of Tehran.
Crowds begin to congregate in the early evening hours in Tehran. Here they are chanting "Khamenei will be out".
A large crowd chanting in Tehran, "This year is the year of blood Seyyed Ali will be gone", referring to Iran's 83-year-pld ruler Ali Khamenei.
Protesters blocking a street in Hassan Abad district of Tehran. A voice in the video says security forces are approaching.
Security agents placed inside Sina Hospital firing tear gas at protesters in the streets on Tuesday.
Protesters began to gather in the streets by midday. This is Sanaat square in Tehran.
Schoolgirls protesting in Tehran's Naziabad district after classes ended early Tuesday afternoon.
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UNIVERSITIES
Students at Chamraz University in Ahvaz, Khuzestan province chanting "Freedom, freedom".
Students at Kermanshah's Razi University, western Iran, protesting on Tuesday, chanting "This is the last message, Target is the whole regime."
Students in Khomeini-Shahr Universiaty, Esfahan Province.
Student protests also took place in Babol University, northern Iran.
Students at Tehran's Polytechnic University began a protest sit-in before noon on Tuesday but at 12:50 they were confronted by campus security that threatened them to end their gathering.
Students at the industrial university in Semnan chanting, "From Zahedan to Tehran, My life for Iran".
Students in a unique sort of protest in Sanandaj University.
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KORDESTAN PROVINCE
According to reports by Hengaw human rights monitoring group two people were shot dead by security forces in the province on Tuesday, One citizen was killed in Sanandaj and another in Kamyaran. Reports say that protesters overran a Basij militia base in Kamyaran.
Protests in the town of Ghorveh in the restive province with a majority of Iranian Kurds.
All markets nd retail businesses on strike in the town of Bukan.
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CENTRAL PROVINCE
All small businesses are on strike in Arak, capital of Central Province.
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EAST AND WEST AZARBAIJAN PROVINCES
Protesters set fire to the municipal building in the town of Bukan, West Azarbaijan Province.
Protests in Orumiyeh or Urmia. The tweet says, Azaris, Kurds and Armenia hand in hand protest and chant, "This year is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be gone."
All retailers and the traditional bazaar on strike in Tabriz.
Reports and images also show extraordinary security measures in Ardebil, northern Iran and a large presence of security forces.
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KHUZESTAN PROVINCE
Protests in Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province.
As evening fell, protesters gathered in force in Izeh, a town in Khuzestan.
Retail stores on strike in Kazerun, a small city in the oil-0rich Khuzestan, where there were no protests so far.
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KERMANSHAH PROVINCE (Western Iran)
Fierce protests in the town of Kamyaran, where security forces are firing at protesters with automatic weapons.
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FARS PROVINCE
Evening protests in Shiraz, capital of Fars Province.
Security forces firing on protesters from inside a mosque in Marvadasht.
People gathering in smaller groups in neighborhoods and block streets in preparation for the evening. This video is from Shiraz.
The traditional Vakil Bazaar in Shiraz, capital of Fars Province on strike in solidarity with ongoing protests.
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NORTHERN KHORASAN PROVINCE
General strike in Bojnourd, the provincial capital on Tuesday.
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ESFAHAN (Isfahan) PROVINCE
Protesters set large fires in the streets in the historic city of Esfahan, capital of Esfahan province.
People chanting "Freedom, freedom" in Shahin Shahr a town near the provincial capital Esfahan.
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GILAN PROVINCE
Security forces walking and firing guns as they try to scare people in the steets of the city of Rasht.
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BUSHEHR PROVINCE
Retailers and stores on strike in Bandar Genaveh port city on the Persian Gulf, which is a small city and so far there were no reports of protests.
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Hamedan
Protesters in the western city of Hamedan out in force chant "Freedom, freedom".
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KHORASAN-RAZAVI PROVINCE
Mostly young protesters in the religious city of Mashhad marching in the streets and chanting, "This year is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be gone". Some women in the video are seen without hijab.
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SEMNAN PROVINCE
A general strike in Garmsar on Tuesday. Semnan has been one of the quietest provinces in Iran during the past two months.
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ZANJAN PROVINCE
Protesters in the provincial capital, Zanjan, chanting "We shall fight, we shall die, but take back Iran".
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MAZANDARAN PROVINCE
In the city of Babol gunshots are heard as people protest despite the deployment of security forces.
Protests in the city of Amol, where residents have been at the forefront of the movement since September. At one point more than 100 security forces attacked protesters with everything even in some instances firing at them. Young protesters tried to spread into small streets and regroup.
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QAZVIN PROVINCE
Protesters in Qazvin the provincial capital chanting, "This year is the year of blood, Seyyed Ali will be gone," referring to Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei.
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HORMOZGAM PROVINCE
Thousands of people protested in a small town near the Persian Gulf, which shows the extent to which the popular unrest has spread throughout the country.
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Amid the global outcry over the Islamic Republic human rights violations, which is also condemned by numerous UN officials, organizers of the meeting made our correspondent Maryam Rahmati and BBC Persian’s Bahman Kalbasi leave the session on the pretext the meeting was held behind closed doors while Iran's state broadcaster was allowed to cover the event.
The event at the UN building was a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The OIC has permanent delegations to the United Nations and the European Union. The meeting paused and only resumed after all the reporters left the room.
The Iranian officials present at the meeting were Kazem Gharibabadi, the deputy head of the Judiciary who is also secretary of the High Council for Human Rights, and Zohreh Elahian, a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee. Elahian reportedly was one of 227 lawmakers in Iran who recently signed a letter requesting the execution of some protesters.
“Why is your government so scared of us?” asked our correspondent before leaving the room. “If you are not doing anything wrong; if you are not killing the people of Iran, why are you scared of our media outlet?” she said.
She went on to ask Gharibabadi what was wrong with covering the meeting, as he was sitting smugly with a sober face.
The meeting in question was organized at the behest of the Islamic Republic seemingly to provide an opportunity for the regime in Tehran to justify the death sentence that authorities seek for some protesters, or blaming the media for the unrest in the country as they always do.
Later on Monday, Iran’s state media cited Gharibabadi as saying on the sidelines of the meeting that the British government’s support for the “unlawful anti-Iran campaign waged by the Persian-language media outlets” is the root cause of the popular protests that has been going on for the past two months.
Unable to come up with a working proven allegations against Persian-language media outlets, the Islamic Republic has launched a smear campaign against UK-based channels, describing them as terrorist groups.
“In fact, the anti-Iran Persian-language media’s moves are completely contrary to the laws and regulations, and we hold the British government responsible in this regard,” Gharibabadi told reporters in New York.
As Western countries seek to ratchet up scrutiny of Tehran’s human rights violations, the UN human rights office called on Iran's government to immediately release thousands of detained protesters, faulting its “increasing harshness”.
At a UN press briefing in Geneva on Tuesday, Spokesman Jeremy Laurence of the office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said it was calling for all charges to be dropped against the demonstrators and cautioned that Iran can only mete out the death penalty for the “most serious crimes" under international law.
“Instead of opening space for dialogue on legitimate grievances, the authorities are responding to unprecedented protests with increasing harshness,” he said.
The UN Human Rights Council plans to hold a special session -- slated for 24 November -- to address “the deteriorating human rights situation.” The special session is being convened following an official request submitted on November 11 by Germany and Iceland, which has been supported by 44 States thus far.