Iranians held night demonstrations nationwide to commemorate 40 days since the death of protesters in rallies against the ruling regime. The rallies even spread to the Abadan oil refinery. The Free Trade Union said the workers at the most important petrochemical facility in the country carried out a large-scale strike on Monday. Labor activists said the move forced operations at the facility to stop. Several oil companies, steel companies, other factories and major markets had gone on strike during the first three months of the protests. Since September 16, Iran has been embroiled in protests sparked by the death of a young woman, Mahsa Amini, three days after she was arrested by the cleric-led country’s morality police for violating the country’s strict dress code for women. Hundreds of protesters, including dozens of children, were killed in the ensuing violent crackdown by the security forces. Human rights organizations say that the number of detainees had reached 20,000. About 65 members of the security forces have been killed. The judiciary also charged more than 2,000 people in connection with the protests. The protests, in which demonstrators from all walks of life demanded the overthrow of the ruling regime, pose one of the biggest challenges to the republic since the 1979 revolution. Video recordings showed ceremonies marking the 40th day of the death of protesters in the city of Sanandaj, the center of the Kurdistan province, as well as the Kurdish city of Saqez, Amini’s birthplace. Iran’s exiled Prince Reza Pahlavi had called on people to take part in the ceremonies.