Increase Pressure On The Government Of Tehran, Iranian Students Hold Mogok Action

Illustration of protests in Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Darafsh)

JAKARTA - Iranian students are pressing forward to stage a strike by sitting on Tuesday, to support some of the biggest protests since the 1979 revolution, ignoring strong warnings by elite security forces and the Tehran government's decisive action.

Iran has faced ongoing anti-government demonstrations since Iranian-Kurdi woman Mahsa Amini, 22, died in a moral police custody seven weeks ago, after she was arrested for wearing clothes deemed "inappropriate".

The HRANA activist news agency said the sit-in took place in several cities including Tehran and Isfahan.

One of the boldest challenges for Iranian clerical leaders in decades, protests have escalated, frustrating authorities who tried to blame foreign enemies Iran and their agents for the unrest.

"People are risking their lives to take to the streets. However, their hopes of defeating the regime are much greater than their fears," said Omid Memarian, senior Iranian analyst in Democracy for the World of Arabs Now (DEWN).

Meanwhile, Asieh Bakeri, daughter of a war hero from the country's conflict with Iraq in the 1980s, criticized Iran's rulers.

"Yes, the martyrs watched us, but they also oversaw the theft of your public treasury, embezzlement, discrimination, oppression, the blood-carrying of innocent people," he said, underscoring how dissatisfaction spreads to families that have special places in society.

"You shoot people with weapons of war. For years you have abused journalists on spying charges," he criticized.

Protesters from all walks of life have taken part, with students and women playing an important role, waving and burning the headscarf.

However, analysts doubt the protests could bring down Tehran's rulers, saying the unrest was seen as a move that could ultimately lead to dramatic political changes.

"This protest is seen as an opportunity to encourage change. This is a moment they hope to build," said Sanam Vakil, deputy director at the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

Meanwhile, HRANA said 287 protesters had been killed in the riots as of Monday, including 46 minors. In addition, about 36 members of the security forces were also killed.

About 14,160 people have been arrested, including about 300 students, in protests in 133 major and small cities, and 129 universities, he said.

Iran's hardline court will hold public trials of about 1,000 people charged for the riots in Tehran, intensifying efforts to destroy demonstrations for weeks.