Political Demonstrations of civil disobedience across Iran, that have steadily grown since late December, have reached a critical breaking point for the Islamic Regime.
Initially, Iranian officials acknowledged the economic grievances from the protestors that sparked the unrest in December. However, As international pressure of the regime, especially from the United States, grew, Iran had increasingly begun to withdraw any recognition of the protests, declaring the protestors to be enemies of the Islamic Republic.
On January 8, Iranian authorities shut down internet access nationwide and disrupted mobile phone services. That night marked the largest demonstrations since the protests began, with crowds ranging from hundreds of thousands to potentially millions chanting “Death to the dictator.” This began a deadly massacre orchestrated by the Islamic Regime. Plain-clothed officials began shooting at protestors with pistols and assault rifles.
It is stated that the turning point in the night came around 8:30 PM, once the authorities had shutdown the internet. With a disconnected country, the Iranian forces had full control to unleash immense firepower onto their own people. Body bags have been piling in Tehran these past couple of days.
Because of the internet shutdown, reporting and knowing the scale of the massacres that have taken place is quite challenging. Estimates by human-rights groups and intelligence services point all indicators to a death toll in Iran that is the largest since the initial crackdown from the Islamic Regime in 1981.
The Xavier Review is closely monitoring the situation and will have updates once more information into the massacres is uncovered. We stand in solidarity with and pray for the Iranian people as they endure this frightening and uncertain moment.
