Iranian Oil Pipeline Catches Fire As Mass Protests Continue

• An oil pipeline in southwest Iran caught fire on Sunday, causing some damage but there have been no casualties reported.
• The fire took place amid mass protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini at the hands of the country’s morality police.
• Some Iranian oil workers have reportedly joined the protests, although the source of the fire remains unclear.

A fire erupted at an oil pipeline in the southwest of Iran this weekend in an incident authorities are still investigating amid continued anti-government protests and clashes in the country following the death of Mahsa Amini, who was arrested by the morality police.  

According to Iranian media and videos shared on Twitter, an oil pipeline in the southwestern Iranian port city of Bandar Mahshahr caught fire on Sunday, the Jerusalem Post reported, noting that neither the regime nor semiofficial media in Iran had reported that sabotage may have caused the fire.

The fire has caused some damage, but no casualties have been reported, according to Iranian news agency IRNA quoted by the Jerusalem Post.

The anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic started in September after Mahsa Amini died of injuries three days after being detained by morality police for not wearing a headscarf properly, as dictated by Iran’s strict rules on women’s wear.  

The protests continue, and even oil workers in Iran have joined them, while the government is trying to crack down on the biggest mass dissent in the country in decades.

In October, dozens of Iranian oil workers joined nationwide protests, and striking petrochemical workers at the Asaluyeh refinery chanted “death to the dictator” and walked off the complex on October 11, a video shared on Twitter by Bloomberg showed. The workers also set tires on fire to block the road for Iran’s security forces.

The Iranian government has blamed the protests on Iran’s enemies, including the United States, saying it’s a ploy run by armed dissidents, among others. 

Protesters have continued to brave the harsh crackdown by security forces, burning pictures of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, calling for the downfall of the clerical establishment, and chanting “Death to the Dictator.” Iranian authorities have, however, denied that the protests are in any way related to nuclear talks.

By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com

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