Iranian security forces have reportedly fired into crowds gathered at the grave of Mahsa Amini, 40 days after she died subsequent to being arrested. Teargas was also understood to have been used.
Details of any deaths or injuries have not yet been confirmed following the gathering of mourners at the Aichi cemetary in Saqqez on Wednesday.
Since the death of Amini, countries across the globe have been putting increasing pressure on the Iranian government, condemning its violent oppression of women.
The 22-year-old died on September 16 after being taken into custody and tortured by the country’s morality police for not wearing her hijab correctly.
Her death has inspired millions of people worldwide to cut their hair in solidarity. Meanwhile, women in Iran have been protesting, taking their hijabs off and demanding a better life for themselves ever since.
Their protests have been met with harshness, with security forces firing teargas and using violence to silence their citizens, leading to many deaths.
Iranian officials are also under pressure over the detention of Spanish football fan Santiago Sánchez, 41. He had been hiking from Madrid to Doha for the World Cup. A Kurdish-Iraq-based human rights group said he had been “kidnapped by Iranian security forces” after visiting Amini’s grave.
Fuel was also added to the fire when Iranian athlete Elnaz Rakabi competed without her hijab. She then disappeared for several hours and appeared in Iran, apologising for not wearing her hijab. Reports claim that she has been under house arrest since.
And, as the war between Ukraine and Russia continues, with Iran allegedly selling drones to the Russians, global tensions are rising.
With the World Cup starting on November 20, many have called for Iran to be banned from the competition. Here’s everything we know.
Why are there calls for Iran to be banned from the 2022 World Cup?
A letter sent to the president of Fifa, Gianni Infantino, by the Spain-based law firm Ruiz-Huerta & Crespo claims that the Iranian Football Federation’s behaviour towards women contradicts football’s governing body’s gender equality and gender justice agenda, Fox News reported.
The letter said: “We urge Fifa Council to take responsibility and issue a decision suspending the Iranian Football Federation’s membership until they take adequate measures to ensure women can enter stadia across the country and participate in all the competitions organised by Fifa.”
The law firm is not the only party that has urged Fifa to ban Iran from the global football extravaganza.
Sergei Palkin, CEO of Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk, has said Iran should not be allowed to compete given the allegations that it has armed Russia with drones.
“While the Iranian leadership will have fun watching their national team play at the World Cup, Ukrainians will be killed by Iranian drones and Iranian missiles,” Mr Palkin said. “Almost 250 such drones have already attacked peaceful cities of Ukraine.
“Each of them was produced, delivered by the Iranian authorities, Iranian instructors and the military directly trained and managed the launches of drones that destroyed homes, museums, universities, offices, sports grounds and playgrounds, and most importantly, killed Ukrainians.”
