The Washington PostThe Washington Post

As protests rock Iran, its most feared security force is lying in wait

By Miriam Berger

26 Oct 2022 · 5 min read

Editor's Note

With Iran’s uprising now in its sixth week, the country’s powerful security state and the protesters calling for its downfall have reached an uncertain stalemate.

Thousands of people poured into the streets of Mahsa Amini's hometown Wednesday and marched to her grave. Iranian security forces responded - as they have throughout the course of the nationwide protests inspired by her death - with violence and arrests.

The gathering in Saqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan region, marked the 40th day since Amini's death in the custody of Iran's "morality police," a traditional moment of remembrance in Islam. As the night wore on, demonstrators came out in other cities, as they have every day since mid-September.

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