Situation Tense In Iranian Town After A Government Agent is Killed

Reports received by Iran International show the situation is tense in the city of Semirom in Esfahan province, central Iran, after people held large protests on Saturday.

Grassroot activists say on Sunday security forces attacked the house of a victim of the anti-regime protests in the city arresting some of relatives.

Meanwhile, Morteza Amo Mehdi, a top IRGC commander in Esfahan province confirmed the death of a Basij militia during the protests on Sunday, identifying him as "Mohsen Rezaei".

The IRGC commander claimed that Mohsen Rezaei was killed by bullets. He also called the protesters "rioters" and described their recent gatherings “illegal”.

A large crowd of people on Friday attended the mourning ceremony of Ali Abbasi, who was killed at the hand of regime forces forty days ago. They released balloons, sang songs, and chanted slogans against Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

On Saturday, a large crowd gathered in front of the governor's office to protest the repressions and chanted slogans against him. The protests in Semirom spilled into late hours of the night.

A day after these protests, reports received by Iran International show that security is beefed up and troops have been deployed to prevent further protests.
Since the beginning of the uprising in mid-September over 500 people have been killed by security forces.