Reports from Friday describe Iranian security forces violently clamping down on peaceful protests over water scarcity taking place in Isfahan and at least one other city. The state repression came in the form of batons, teargas, and buckshot fired indiscriminately at the protestors, many of whom are struggling farmers impacted by environmental degradation. Human rights groups, such as The Center for Human Rights in Iran, quickly and rightly condemned “the use of live fire on protesters in Isfahan,” and urged the international community, “to call on the Iranian government to allow people to protest without the threat of violence and death.”

This November marks two years since the brutal crackdown of protests across Iran, which were sparked by an overnight spike in fuel prices but revealed deeper discontent within Iranian society. While the number of victims is disputed and may be much higher, according to an in-depth report by Amnesty International, the heavy-handed crackdown by security forces killed at least 324 men, women, and children between the 15th and 19th of November, 2019. These documented victims of violent state repression were killed in 37 cities across Iran, with the majority having been killed in the impoverished suburbs around Tehran.