On Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister (FM) Hossein Amirabdollahian cancelled his scheduled visit to India to attend the Raisina Dialogue after event organisers posted a video showing the ongoing anti-regime protests in Iran.
Iran’s Decision
Confirming reports that Amirabdollahian would not attend the event, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani announced that the FM made this decision due to the “unprofessional action” by the Indian organisers.
Reuters quoted Kanaani as saying during a televised press conference that Amirabdollahian’s “attendance was on the agenda.” However, the decision was made following the airing of a video that showed Iranian protesters cutting their hair in solidarity with Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman, who was beaten to death by Iran’s morality police for wearing the hijab improperly.
Since #Iran's regime is having a temper tantrum, I think @raisinadialogue should invite a real representative of the Iranian people from the opposition's unity council to speak about #womanlifefreedom. https://t.co/TEeZ4iSbmj
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) February 20, 2023
The video also displayed Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi right after the clip showing the protests, further angering Tehran.
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The Iranian FM was scheduled to attend the Raisina Dialogue on 3 and 4 March. The Raisina Dialogue, conducted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) think tank in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs, is India’s flagship conference on geopolitics and geopolitics, with the aim of “addressing the most challenging issues facing the global community.”
Anti-Regime Protests
Anti-regime protests erupted across Iran in September 2022 in the wake of the death of Mahsa Amini.
What initially began as protests demanding an end to mandatory hijab laws has gradually morphed into a nationwide movement calling for the end of the theocracy in Iran. Protests have spread rapidly across the nation, galvanising school and university students, including girls, labour unions, and prisoners.
Daily Statistics on Iran Protests#Iran#IranProtests pic.twitter.com/Sfeqm84h4p
— HRANA English (@HRANA_English) February 20, 2023
Nationwide demonstrations have continued to spread for over five months. According to an estimate, at least 531 protesters, including 71 children, have been killed in clashes with security forces.
As per the Iran Human Rights Organisation, the Islamic Republic has executed at least 55 people linked to the protests in the first 26 days of 2023. Furthermore, at least 107 people are at imminent risk of execution.