Iran

[J.C.Decaux]

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According to the crown prince from that sheikhly fiefdom - Saudi arabia, Iran are spearheading 'global terrorism'

any thoughts?


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[yield]

I was just reading Robert Fisk's piece in the Independent. It's good that Hassan Rouhani won the election when you consider his opponent.

Even so readily apparent there's so much murky stuff going on right now. Anything to stop China's dreams of Empire and the new Silk Road.

Rouhani’s victory is good news for Iran, but bad news for Trump

 

[teqniq]

As this is the most recent Iran thread, I'll use this....

Lots of protests today against corruption, many reports on Twitter, below are a few:







Iranian police disperse anti-government protests





from a fb post courtesy of Erin Cunningham and if you look at her recently liked tweets there's lots more reportage

Here is what happened in Mashhad, Iran's second biggest city today (typing on my phone so sorry for the typos): Hardline supporters of the regime wanted to stage a demo against the pro-reform yet economically neoliberal government of President Rouhani. It was basing itself on the very real anger about fraud financial schemes that have robbed many of all their savings and are a symbol of pervasive corruption. Things quickly escalated and got out of hands. The slogans had started by attacking Rouhani and his ally Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani and his famously corrupt establishment family. They soon spread to radical and nationalist anti-regime slogans including the 2009 favourites Death to Dictator and "No Gaza, No Lebanon, I will die for Iran" and newly coined "Leave Syria Alone, Do Something for us" and "You are using religion as a tool, you have ruined the people". The protests come as Ahmadinejad and his allies, having been banished from the halls of power since 2013, have ran a campaign centred against Larijanis and corruption. They show widespread disgust at the Iranian regime and its failed economics. They lack political direction and are a challenge to progressives who have been supporting Rouhani's modernising, pro-reform agenda and his clashes with the regime establishment over their special interests. They could die down or flare up further. But they remind the reformist faction and all other progressive forces in Iranian politics that they need to direct people's anger and lead it to an agenda that seriously challenges the tyrannical regime and the Big Dictator himself. I hope it awakes the reformists from their pessimistic slumber, moves them away from discredited neoliberal economics and vitalises them to consider possibilities of extra-parliamentary politics.

Wholeheartedly support Mashhad protests and condemn their bloody suppression by the regime!

Build a progressive democratic agenda that pushes the Rouhani government away from neoliberal economics and for immediate responses to people who have been robbed!

 

[elbows]

Interesting. Even if it doesnt spread much further, I would assume slogans like 'You are using religion as a tool, you have ruined the people' and 'we get poor, clerics get rich' will set off a particular kind of alarm for that regime. Not to mention the ones involving foreign policy.

 

[butchersapron]

“Death to Rouhani” and “Death to the dictator”.
Not Gaza, not Lebanon, my soul is the redemption of Iran
Leave Syria and think about us
You have used religion and humiliated the people
The government is lying and its promises are not implemented
Unity Unity, No Fear, No fear of the police
We regret the revolution and overthrow the monarchy

 

[elbows]

 

[teqniq]

 

[J Ed]

View attachment 124236

Anyone have anything in a bit more depth about the background to all this or what's happening now?

 

[bimble]

not a lot of info here but something:
Why are people protesting in Iran?

 

[teqniq]

 

[terapija]

Qom is supposed to be one of the most conservative cities in Iran...strange

 

[teqniq]

Qom



It seems to be proper kicking off all over, I am guessing that eventually the authorities will employ yet more violent means to end it.

 

[Dogsauce]

How much of it will be additionally fuelled by external parties gaming social media to foment unrest? A few other countries with a dog in this race.

 

[Riklet]

I'm asking an Iranian friend what she thinks of this all.

She said previously that economically things have got a lot worse over the past few years. Fewer jobs, more poverty, economic issues and continuing impact of sanctions etc. As well as the inflexible regime policies and the money being spent in Syria and Lebanon rather than in Iran itself.

I'd imagine the regime will blame Saudi meddling. Seems likely right?

 

[The39thStep]

How much of it will be additionally fuelled by external parties gaming social media to foment unrest? A few other countries with a dog in this race.

yup but this survey conducted a few months ago shows how popular Iranian nationalism and identity is. Unless these attitudes vanish into thin air there must be some doubts as to how far the US or others can benefit from the protests.

 

[Dogsauce]

Why would Saudi/the US/Israel not meddle? It's a piece of piss to set up a few dozen fake twitter accounts, costs virtually nothing to do, no risk of physical harm. Beats chucking bombs any day.

 

[Dogsauce]

yup but this survey conducted a few months ago shows how popular Iranian nationalism and identity is. Unless these attitudes vanish into thin air there must be some doubts as to how far the US or others can benefit from the protests.
View attachment 124269

Of course, those numbers will depend on how freely people think they can answer, although most are not surprising. Don't think the west will give a fuck about democracy and human rights, just would prefer Iran to be weaker and more divided.

 

[Rimbaud]

Why would Saudi/the US/Israel not meddle? It's a piece of piss to set up a few dozen fake twitter accounts, costs virtually nothing to do, no risk of physical harm. Beats chucking bombs any day.

Probably, but that doesn't mean the protests are controlled by a hidden hand. Setting up a few dozen twitter accounts is not enough to start a revolution, it can only fan the flames of pre-existing discontent at most.

 

[likesfish]

Iran is quasi democratic and the mullahs are less than popular with young people.
Playing games in syria and lebannon is fine when your doing it with petty cash not so cool if people are suffering at home and iran is full of young people.

 

[teqniq]

Iran blocks Instagram and messaging app after third night of protests

 

[butchersapron]

View attachment 124291

Iran blocks Instagram and messaging app after third night of protests

This seems to be the reading in this piece also - but the author's evident soft spot for 'the reformers' makes me suspicious of this. Not to mention it bases it on 'some reports' with no quotes or links or anything.

 

[teqniq]

This seems to be the reading in this piece also - but the author's evident soft spot for 'the reformers' makes me suspicious of this. Not to mention it bases it on 'some reports' with no quotes or links or anything.

She does say in follow-up tweets that the reports are based on info from contacts inside Iran (should have provided a link sorry).

 

[tim]

Time for a rerun of 79.

 

[Humirax]

Iran is a theocracy ruled by old clerics, any change is probably for the best. I fear though that this will end badly for those on the streets, hopefully I'm wrong.

 

[Rimbaud]

www.nbcnews.com/news/world/amp/iran-protests-death-toll-reaches-12-state-media-reports-n833806

Really kicking off, according to Iranian state media armed protestors have attempted to take control of police stations and military bases. If true, seems like things are escalating.

Let's hope this turns out more like Tunisia, and less like Syria.

 

[teqniq]

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[rekil]

That's Bahrain. And look at the state of the account.

 

[teqniq]

Ah is it? I saw that earlier on my phone but wasn't sure. will take it down ta.

 

[Riklet]

10 dead now, apparently. Wouldnt want to be the poor fuckers in custody. Some real brave peeps out there.

It's interesting the spontaneous nature of the protests and the extent to which they have taken the establishment and the opposition parties/groups by surprise. Social media etc blocked but clearly big things happening all across the country.

 

[Humirax]

Total hypocrisy from Trump on these protests ofcourse Trump: 'The USA is watching very closely for human rights violations' during Iran protests

We know what he makes of human rights- and protesters- locking up people for 40 years for standing next to a smashed window on inauguration day for example. Trump's first military action as president killed an eight year old girl, he went all out against the bend the knee protests (to the point of trying to destroy people's careers), then theres the travel ban, attacks on women's re-productive rights, his support for Saudi Arabia's genocide in Yemen, his pick for head of the CIA says he wants to execute Edward Snowden, theres his hideous 'health care' bill that he so desperately wants to impose on the country, the list goes on. Hawks and neo-cons seem very eager to support this, including people like John 'bomb Iran' McCain.

It seems certain people in the US have learnt nothing from the disasterous coup that they instigated in Iran in 1953, which brought the Shah to power and made Iran the puppet of the US. Now, I still support these protests and am not saying it's all foreign interference (I don't buy that at all), but the interest and hypocrisy from hawks in the US is worth baring in mind and I still hope the Iranian theocracy is toppled.