Protests over water shortages in Khuzestan continue for seventh day; US supports Iranian people's right to peaceful assembly
Widespread protests in Khuzestan over water shortages continued for the seventh day, and according to citizen-journalists, protests were also held in various cities in the province, including Susangerd, on Wednesday, July 20. Internet access in the region is also disrupted.
Reports published on social media also indicate that protests were held in Isfahan province in support of the Khuzestan protesters.
On the other hand, Hassan Nabuwati, the acting governor of Izeh city, confirmed on Wednesday that one protester was killed during Tuesday night's protests in Izeh, claiming that he was initially injured and died after being transported to the hospital by a private vehicle. He said that "the manner of injury" and "the identity of the assailant or assailants are under investigation."
Nebuthoti denied that three protesters were killed in the Izeh protests, claiming that 14 police officers were injured and hospitalized. The acting governor of Izeh denied that three protesters were killed on Tuesday. As in the past, Iranian authorities have imposed restrictions on free and on-the-ground coverage of the protests.
Publication of images of the continuation of protests on Wednesday
On the seventh day of protests against water shortages in Khuzestan, the gatherings were not limited to this province.
Video reports show that a group of people from Yazdanshahr, Isfahan, held a protest rally on Wednesday in support of the people of Khuzestan.
Protesters in Masjed Soleyman also chanted on the seventh day of protests: "Support the police force, support them."
A video has also been released that is said to show the formation of protests in Kermanshah on Wednesday.
Another video of the protests in Masjed Soleyman has also been posted on social media, with the narrator stating that it took place on July 20th.
On Wednesday, as some Twitter users reported, special forces were deployed in Tehran's Azadi Square with vehicles and equipment that appear to be for possible confrontation with protesters.
- US support for the Iranian people's right to peaceful assembly
The US State Department spokesperson announced in his daily press briefing on Wednesday, July 20th, that the United States is closely following the ongoing developments in Khuzestan and supports the right of the Iranian people to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
Ned Price stated that Washington is also aware of reports of police shooting protesters, adding: "We support the rights of the Iranian people to peacefully assemble and express their will, just like any other people."
Earlier on Wednesday, the New York State Representative in the United States House of Representatives, while supporting the peaceful protests of the Iranian people, strongly condemned the government's attack on the protesters.
Claudia Tenney tweeted that the Iranian people, like the Cuban people, want to be free and demand their basic rights, and that "the clerical regime in Tehran does not represent the history, dynamism, or future of the Iranian people."
- Statement from the Iranian Writers' Association in support of nationwide protests
On Wednesday, July 20, the Iranian Writers' Association issued a statement referring to the widespread protests of the people of Khuzestan in the past few days, the strike of oil and sugarcane industry workers in the past few weeks, as well as the coronavirus pandemic and the lack of a vaccine, condemning the suppression of protests and strikes, and calling on journalists not to submit to censorship.
Meanwhile, the Tehran Teachers' Union also supported the Khuzestan protests in a statement and attributed the responsibility for today's "misery" of the Iranian people and the deaths of individuals to the "main leaders and decision-makers" of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
- Iranians abroad support the protests of the people of Khuzestan
A group of Iranians living in the western United States held a rally in Los Angeles on Tuesday in support of the widespread protests by the people of Khuzestan against water shortages.
Ali Ebrahimzadeh, one of the participants in the rally, told a VOA reporter that remaining silent in the face of the killing of the people of Khuzestan contradicts moral principles.
Asal Akhavan, another attendee at the rally, also said that the silence of Iranians abroad is a betrayal of the Iranian people.
Source: Voice of America
