Students at the University of Pennsylvania participated in a worldwide effort to coordinate pro-Hamas demonstrations on Monday. The effort was called upon by the Iranian military, according to a document leak.
Penn Against the Occupation, a pro-Palestine group associated with the University of Pennsylvania, announced a “Tax Day Teach-In For Palestine” to take place on April 15. The event purported to educate students on how much their tax dollars contribute to the war in Gaza. The organization also promoted a “Coordinated Economic Blockade to Free Palestine” organized by the Philly Palestine Coalition. The demonstration blocked roads around the main Philadelphia train station and highways.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, organized an April 15 international economic blockade, according to a leaked letter. The IRGC arranged the international demonstration as part of a larger scheme to sew chaos into America, Europe, and Asia, the letter reveals.
In a March 11 letter titled: “Support and incentivization of actions of Palestinians in the direction
of political isolation of the Zionist regime,” Ali Fadavi, IRGC Deputy Commander-In-Chief and Chief of IRGC Intelligence Mohammad Kazemi, commanded Mohammad Sajedi-Far, the Deputy Cultural and Psychological War Operations of the IRGC, to create new demonstrations with the aim of tarnishing Israel’s international image.
“In light of recent developments concerning occupied Palestine and the psychological operations, “Al-Aqsa Flood” aimed at Palestinian societies in American and European countries, you are hereby directed to establish substantial support measures on April 15 and to employ other methods deemed necessary to achieve the political isolation of the Zionist entity,” the letter reads.
Shortly after, videos circulated around social media calling on pro-Palestine protesters to participate in an “economic blockade” on April 15 against Western countries. The protests, aimed at toppling the “Zionist war machine”, urged protesters to “jam up trade checkpoints” and “disrupt the global economy.” The video urged protesters to escalate their behavior and take “collective risk” to show their disapproval of the Israel-Hamas War.
Other illegal blockades throughout the country that were organized in accordance with Iranian command included O’Hare International Airport in Chicago, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, and at Tesla’s flagship manufacturing facility in California.
