Finally, a president who expresses clear support for protesters in Iran
“The enemies have united and are using all their means, money, weapons, policies and security services to create problems for the Islamic regime”, the supreme leader said in remarks on state television.
Marina Nemat, the author of the memoir Prisoner of Tehran, was born in Iran but now lives in Aurora, Ont.
How Serious are the Protests?
These are remarkable acts of protest in Iran, a country where dissent is rarely tolerated, women are treated as second class citizens and gay men are routinely persecuted.
The statement, issued late Tuesday by the high representative for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, offered the EU’s first formal remarks on the unrest in Iran and came as the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, blamed enemies, including the US and Saudi Arabia, for instigating deadly protests.
He added that these protests could ultimately threaten the regime.
Even reformists, who backed the last major protest movement in 2009, condemned the unrest and the support it has received from the United States. He could opt to re-impose the sanctions and risk collapse of the accord, a move that could isolate the U.S.
“The official line pursued by the United States, Israel and Saudi Arabia, who are our allies in many ways, is nearly one that would lead us to war”, Macron told reporters. Its leaders remain under house arrest years later. Many young people are much more interested in jobs and change than in the Islamist idealism and anti-west sentiment that the old guard clings to.
During the call that was made on Wednesday, President Rouhani expressed satisfaction over growing cooperation between the two countries in political, security and economic fields, expressing hope that in the New Year, a boost in bilateral and regional ties can be witnessed.
Why Can’t the Government Find a Quick Solution? In some cases, protesters have attacked police stations and government buildings. “Don’t you think they would provoke some people?”
Hardline measures could agitate those Iranians who have been calling for the downfall of the clerical leadership, including Khamenei.
Now that history is repeating itself, the free world has a chance to avoid making the same mistake. State TV reported on Tuesday that the latest clashes between protesters and security forces have killed nine more people.
The protests and crackdown give Trump an unexpected opportunity to turn sustained negative attention on the Iranian government.
The European Union, in a statement released Tuesday, said “peaceful demonstration and freedom of expression are fundamental rights that apply to every country, and Iran is no exception”.
What are the Main Demands of the Protesters? In addition to Iran and the US, the signatories include China, France, Russia, the U.K., Germany and the European Union. But as the unrest has spread, protestors have directed their anger at the religious establishment.
“And then they’ll be the dominant force in the Middle East”.
Iran’s army chief said yesterday police forces had already quelled anti-government unrest that has killed 21 people but that his troops were ready to intervene if needed, official media reported, as new state-sponsored pro-government rallies were held. It is the drive of ordinary citizens to free themselves from government control over their thought, speech and livelihoods – to shed the burden of having to conform in public despite their private misgivings and grievances against the regime – that has propelled dissidents and revolutionary movements around the world, from Communist Russia to the Arab Spring to today’s Islamic Republic of Iran.
But many Iranians complain that economic benefits have not trickled down to them.
With the failed promise of a quick recovery post the lifting of nuclear sanctions and cuts to subsidies, “It is no surprise. that the current protests in Iran have included slogans against investing resources in arenas outside of Iran”, she said.