July 21, 2021: The Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran(NCRI) issued a statement regarding the protests of the people of Khuzestan Province, Izeh, Ahvaz and other cities, against the mullahs’ regime.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

On Tuesday, July 20, thousands of Izeh residents protested against lack of water, chanting, “Death to the dictator, death to Khamenei.” The State Security Force (SSF) arrested a number of the protesters, which further enraged the citizens.

Protesters chanted “Arabs and Bakhtiari’s, unite, unite” (referring to the two main ethnicities of Arabs and Bakhtiaries in the region), and “Tanks and guns are no longer effective,” and Khamenei, must be killed.” The SSF and special units fired tear gas, pepper spray, and live ammunition at demonstrators in a bid to disperse them. But the youth responded by throwing rocks while chanting, “Have no fear, we are all together.” Several youths were killed or wounded when the SSF opened fire.

Simultaneously, the people of Ahvaz (in Lashgar-abad and Seyyed Karim), Darkhovin, Kut-Sheikh, Al-Jadideh, Kouy-e Molavi, and Kouy-e Feisalieh in Khorramshahr, and Susangerd poured into the streets despite widespread arrests and crackdown. Different regions of Ahvaz were the scene of hit-and-run between the young people and the repressive forces. In Susangerd, the young people were chanting in Arabic, “We know you will confront us with bullets and guns. But dying and becoming martyrs in the path to freedom is our dream.” In Behbahan, young people blocked both sides of Maroun Bridge.

In another development, in Tehran and Karaj (west of the capital) this morning, a large group of people, led by courageous women and girls in Tehran’s Sadeqiyeh underground station, chanted “death to the dictator,” and “down with the principle of the velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule)” to express their rage and revulsion toward the regime.

As a routine, the clerical regime cut off the internet in Izeh, Ahvaz, Shushtar, Susangerd, and Mahshahr to prevent the spread of the protests and censor the news. Reports indicate that dozens of young people in Ramshir and surrounding villages have been arrested.

Mrs. Maryam Rajavi, the President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), hailed the young people in Izeh, who are confronting the IRGC on the sixth night of the uprising in Khuzestan Province. She also hailed the people of Tehran, who chanted death to the principle of the velayat-e faqih. The people are rising to support Khuzestan nationwide, Mrs. Rajavi added.