The response by security forces would be, too. “When I was outside in the evening, the city was still and empty,” the fashion designer said. Residents cheering on protesters had thrown rags and antiseptics from their windows as security forces fired pellets at the crowd. The fashion designer remembered lessons from other protests: “I thought I’d kick it back,” she said, to protect the wounded. Once she clocked in at the hospital, Iranian security forces had escalated their response.