Iran Escalates Violent Crackdown Against Kurdish Protesters

Facts

Iran's violent crackdown on unprecedented unrest — triggered by the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in the custody of the morality police in mid-September — has reportedly reached its ethnically Kurdish areas.
Kurdish human rights group 'Hengaw' claims the Iranian security forces have killed over 40 and injured at least 1.5K people in the northwest of the country using direct fire over the past week alone.
Jalal Mahmoudzadeh, who represents the Kurdish city of Mahabad in the Iranian parliament, has alleged that the interior minister and the head of the National Security Council are responsible for deadly clashes between civilians and heavily-armed troops.
On Wednesday, the United States imposed sanctions against three Iranian security officials for the "systematic spread of military control" in Iran's Kurdish region.
Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, on Sunday described the protests as a Western attempt to cause a "great sedition," and threatened to turn the events into a "graveyard" for enemies of Iran.
The ongoing demonstrations are one of the largest sustained dissents to Iran's theocracy since the 1979 Islamic revolution, and have killed at least 450 protesters, including 63 minors, as of Nov. 26.

Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CFR. Growing fears that the protests will transform into a broader push for freedom have resulted in the Iranian regime resorting to a violent crackdown. By linking civilians to terrorist entities, Iranian hardliners have so far evaded responsibility for the brutal killings, but there is no denying protests could topple the deeply entrenched clerical regime if the force and organization behind them continues.
Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Tehran Times. The protesters are a grave threat to national security as they are backed by foreign forces illegitimately interfering with Iran's politics. Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, is right to term them rioters and thugs. The Iranian justice system must deal with demonstrators mercilessly in order to protect the country's stability.
Cynical narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. The West is not interested in Iranians' human rights — its interventionist stance is motivated by a desire to pressure Tehran into a new nuclear deal and contain the nation's support for Russia in the war in Ukraine. Since Iranian officials are aware of the West's motives and protesters' distrust of the United States, brutal crackdowns will continue until the demonstrations are stifled.