They took their time about it, but Iran’s oil workers seem finally to have joined the anti-regime protests. Videos on social media platforms reportedly show marches and demonstrations in Abadan and Assaluyeh, vital hubs in the country’s petroleum and petrochemicals sector.
Such unrest would represent a significant widening of the uprising against the Islamic Republic: It will give protesters elsewhere in the country a much-needed fillip and draw more international attention to their cause. The government will likely meet it with swift and bloody retaliation.
The turn in the south comes as the regime in Tehran has intensified a crackdown against nationwide protests, which have been sustained mainly by women for nearly a month. (More recently, schoolgirls have joined the demonstrations.)
