Tehran, Iran. Iranians returned to the streets this week for 40-day memorials for people killed by security forces during last month’s anti-government demonstrations, with some ceremonies turning into protests. Authorities deployed security forces to some cemeteries and organised state ceremonies.
Memorial processions and historical parallels
The gatherings echoed tactics used during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when memorial processions 40 days after each death developed into new protests, prompting renewed violence and further deaths.
Opponents of Iran’s clerical establishment have used similar methods, though they have not matched the momentum of that period. Iran’s leaders, facing threats of military attack by U.S. President Donald Trump over nuclear and security policies, have shown concern about the renewed protests.
State ceremonies and security deployment
The authorities invited citizens to attend state-organised 40-day “Chehelom” ceremonies on Tuesday after apologising to “all those affected” by violence they blamed on people described as “terrorists.”
A rights activist in Iran, speaking anonymously due to fear of retribution, said the ceremonies were held in mosques across the country to prevent gatherings of angry families in cemeteries, adding that the effort failed.
Reports of protests and gunfire in Abdanan
Videos circulating on social media showed families holding their own memorials across Iran on Tuesday, 40 days after security forces began two days of widespread shooting that human rights groups say killed thousands of protesters.
Some memorials developed into wider anti-government protests, and some were met with deadly force. In the Kurdish town of Abdanan in Ilam province, witnesses and activists said security forces opened fire on hundreds of mourners gathered at a cemetery.
Videos showed people scattering as gunfire rang out amid chants of “Death to the dictator,” a reference to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Reuters journalists verified the videos were filmed at the cemetery but could not verify the date, and found no versions posted before Tuesday; eyewitnesses and activists said the firing occurred when people gathered there on Tuesday.
What impact will the 40-day memorial gatherings have on further protests in Iran?