Despite government claims, Iran protests not over, Israeli expert says

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards released a statement saying protests have ended, but Israeli expert on Iran, Menashe Amir, told WIN more and more towns and villages are participating in the demonstrations.

By: Margot Dudkevitch, World Israel News

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards announced Sunday that the wave of anti-government protests in the country had ended, saying government forces “defeated the unrest fomented by foreign enemies” in a statement released to its Sepah News website.

“Iran’s revolutionary people along with tens of thousands of Basij forces, police and the intelligence have broken down the chain (of unrest) created by the United States, Britain, the Zionist regime (Israel), Saudi Arabia, the hypocrites and monarchists,” the statement said.

At least 22 Iranian protesters have been killed by security forces since the protests began last week.

However, Menashe Amir, an expert on Iranian affairs and veteran broadcaster in the Persian language, denies the reports. In a telephone interview he told World Israel News that the Revolutionary Guards’ statements cannot be trusted. “Every day the Iranian regime and the Guards make similar statements that the protests are over, but this is not the case,” Amir explained.

According to Amir, protesters now wait until nightfall to go out and demonstrate, unlike the first days when they took to the streets in daylight. While the numbers have not dramatically risen, more and more villages and towns are participating in the wave of protests he said, estimating that between 70 to 100 villages and towns are participating in the anti-government demonstrations.

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