{"id":229072,"date":"2020-11-04T14:27:32","date_gmt":"2020-11-04T14:27:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=229072"},"modified":"2023-02-01T05:35:22","modified_gmt":"2023-02-01T04:35:22","slug":"iran-2019-protests-anniversary-underscores-growing-influence-of-organized-opposition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/iran-2019-protests-anniversary-underscores-growing-influence-of-organized-opposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran 2019 Protests Anniversary Underscores Growing Influence of Organized Opposition"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Youths attack the bases of the repressive forces in Shiraz during the November 2019 protests<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Iran underwent an historic uprising at this time last year. On the anniversary of Iran November 2019 protests, it is important to understand the impact of this uprising and the Iranian opposition role.<\/p>\n

First of all, it is important to note that the November 2019 uprising<\/a> was not the first of its kind. It emerged less than two years after another nationwide protest movement, with the two demonstrating notable similarities. The prior uprising<\/a> began in the final days of 2017 and lasted through much of January 2018. Although initially focused on economic grievances, it came to be defined by slogans like \u201cdeath to the dictator\u201d and calls for regime change. This broad messaging was kept alive in a series of scattered protests in the months following the initial uprising and was taken up on an even larger scale last November.<\/p>\n

While the January 2018 uprising reportedly spanned something like 150 cities across all 31 of Iran\u2019s provinces, protests were confirmed to have taken place in 191 cities during a period of less than two weeks in November 2019. The brief duration of the latter uprising was a sign of the effectiveness of the Iranian Resistance organizing. During both uprisings the People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (MEK<\/a>) played a leading role. And this spurred regime authorities to use \u201cwhatever they can\u201d to prevent the regime\u2019s downfall.<\/p>\n

The regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei confirmed the MEK\u2019s leading role, in one of his speeches. While that uprising was ongoing, Khamenei stated that the MEK had \u201cplanned for months\u201d to popularize the message of regime change. Tehran naturally responded with violence to that initial uprising, and it is estimated that several dozen protesters were killed, some of them under torture. Yet the regime\u2019s oppression did not prevent Iranians from pouring on street again in November.<\/p>\n

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Khamenei, Regime\u2019s Supreme Leader Blames the MEK for the Iran Protests<\/div><\/div>
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