Iran is being blamed for the unprecedented surprise attack launched by the armed wing of Hamas from the Gaza Strip on southern Israel on October 7. A long-standing ally of Hamas, Iran is strongly suspected of having helped organize the attack, and was one of the first countries to welcome it. This explosion of tension triggered the most intense Israeli military response in recent years, in addition to a deluge of political reactions condemning either the Palestinian movement or the Jewish state. The death toll from the fighting currently stands at over 1,500, with thousands more wounded, both Israelis and Gazans.
Iran was in the news for different reasons on the day before the attack. The 2023 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi, imprisoned since April 2022 by the Mullahs’ regime for her fight against the oppression of women in the country. For over a year, Iran has been rocked by protests following the death of Mahsa Amini, a victim of the country’s “morality police”. The theocratic establishment’s ferocious repression of dissent is said to have cost the lives of several hundred demonstrators and led to tens of thousands of arrests. For the time being, the mobilization for women’s rights in Iran seems to have transformed into a movement of civil disobedience.
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