A cry for freedom in Iran
Since Dec. 28, Iran has been rocked by protests in dozens of cities across the country, with ordinary Iranians taking to the streets in protest of corruption, economic stagnation and tyrannical government.
At least 20 people, including police officers, are reported to have been killed since the protests began.
Reports from outlets like the BBC have indicated that the initial protests were motivated by primarily economic concerns, with Iran’s stagnant economy and high rate of inflation prompting calls for “No to high prices” protests.
Though economic frustrations may have motivated the protests, they have grown into a condemnation of the theocratic regime with chants of “Death to the dictator!” and “Death to this deceitful government” being heard.
While superficially reminiscent of the protests that broke out in 2009 in response to the country’s presidential elections that year, in which then-incumbent President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected, there are significant distinctions, most clearly in terms of the demographics of the protesters.
Whereas the 2009 protests were driven primarily by middle-class and urbanized Iranians, poor and lower-middle class Iranians in often smaller towns and rural areas have featured most prominently in the current rounds of protests, which makes sense, given such people would be most negatively impacted by high rates of inflation.
While the precise aims and impetus of the protests remain unclear — no surprise considering the challenge of predicting the direction of any seemingly spontaneous popular movement for reform or revolution, as the Arab Spring made apparent — it is difficult not to be inspired by those brave enough to stand up to a repressive regime.
Whatever the outcome of the protests, they are the latest outbursts of resistance by ordinary Iranians against a system of government that is unsustainable without the deliberate repression of those who have grown weary of theocratic authoritarianism. It is inevitable that such a system will someday collapse amid ever-mounting desires for freedom and dignity.
Fundamentally, this must be the doing of the Iranian people themselves, and Americans should be skeptical of any calls for direct American involvement in toppling the Iranian regime. The recent history of Americanbacked regime change in the Middle East and North Africa should give proponents of such action some pause.
It should never be forgotten that the American-assisted coup of Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh in 1953 set off the chain of events that ultimately led to the Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the current problems in Iran.
Likewise, American support of anti-government forces in places like Libya and Syria in recent years has clearly only made matters worse in both countries.
Still, President Trump and his government were right to make it clear that the repression of dissidents in Iran, especially through violence, is unacceptable to the world, and to encourage reforms in support of individual freedoms and democracy.