The Iranian National Fire Festival, known as Chaharshanbeh Suri in Iran began on Tuesday, March 13th. The celebration is held annually on the last Tuesday of the Persian year. Reports of political activities throughout the country organized by the network of the Iranian opposition People\u2019s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI\/MEK) are widespread.<\/p>\n
Supporters of the PMOI\/MEK inside Iran called on the people, especially the youth, to demonstrate their objections to the government during the celebration of the Persian year. Leaflets and flyers in support of this call were distributed in cities a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n
While pictures of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei were set on fire amid chants of \u201cDown with Khamenei\u201d, pictures of Maryam Rajavi, President-elect of the\u00a0National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)<\/a>, were posted in various locations. People took to the streets, defying the repression of the Government. They expressed their desire for regime change.<\/p>\n People across the country protested<\/a>\u00a0with chants of \u201cDeath to Khamenei\u201d and \u201cDeath to the dictator.\u201d They lit firecrackers and jumped over fires, even though that had been prohibited. The fire celebration took on a new meaning with the\u00a0burning of the Supreme Leader\u2019s posters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Public statements by shopkeepers, bazaar merchants, university students, and people from various social strata throughout the country show their support of the MEK\u2019s call to action.<\/p>\n Social media was also on fire on Tuesday. Twitter was trending the hashtag #\u062f\u064a\u0643\u062a\u0627\u062a\u0648\u0631 \u062f\u0631 \u0622\u062a\u0634, which means \u201cdictator on fire\u201d. Photos and clips of anti-Government activities, relaying the spirit of this year\u2019s Chaharshanbeh Suri campaign, also flooded cyberspace.<\/p>\n Since the uprising during last December and January, that began spontaneously in the holy city of Mashhad and quickly spread throughout the country, multiple Iranian cities have continued to witness new anti-government protests. Thousands of farmers in eastern Isfahan\u00a0rallied on March 9<\/a>\u00a0to protest against Government for lack of water due to the Government\u2019s policies. Additionally, agricultural workers and retired workers at a factory in the Khuzestan province protested and collectively went to the company\u2019s yard, closed the gate, and prevented the movement of the trucks out of the factory.<\/p>\n The economic issues that plague the Iranian people. The corruption throughout Government have left the Iranian people, both old and young, with limited options in terms of jobs and economic security.<\/p>\n The Iranian people are continuing to make their voices heard, despite threats of torture, imprisonment, and violence against their families. The conditions in Iran are reaching a boiling point.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"