Shabtabnews In this dark night, I have lost my way – Arise from a corner, oh you the star of guidance.
Iranwire – The top commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has warned that the clerical regime will respond decisively to any meddling by the country’s foreign foes, amid nationwide protests triggered by the September death of a 22-year-old woman in police custody.
Major General Hossein Salami’s warning also came as the Islamic Republic marked the 1979 takeover of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, which sparked a 444-day hostage crisis and a break in diplomatic relations between the United States and Iran that continues today.
“The enemies know that we will surely respond to any interventionism, but we cannot say right now where and how this [response] will come,” Salami said on November 4, as State-run television aired pro-regime rallies around the country. Crowds in Tehran looked large, but only a few dozen people appeared to take part to other demonstrations.
The wave of anti-government protests that has convulsed Iran for more than six weeks is one of the biggest challenges to the country’s rulers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Officials have blamed foreign powers for the unrest, without providing any evidence. Meanwhile, security forces unleashed a fierce crackdown on the mainly peaceful protest movement, arresting several thousand people, subjecting detainees to various forms of physical and psychological torture, and killing more than 270 other people.
Dozens of security forces have also been killed, according to state media. One member of the Basij paramilitary force reportedly died in clashes with protesters in a town near Tehran on November 3.
