Iran General NewsIran and Yemen in tit-for-tat battle for street cred

Iran and Yemen in tit-for-tat battle for street cred

-

ImageThe Guardian: Iran is embroiled in a game of tit for tat with Yemen after Tehran thoroughfares were renamed in honour of anti-government rebels in the Arabian peninsular country. guardian.co.uk

Governments rename streets in honour of rebel fighters and protesters

Ian Black, Middle East editor

ImageIran is embroiled in a game of tit for tat with Yemen after Tehran thoroughfares were renamed in honour of anti-government rebels in the Arabian peninsular country.

Iranians reportedly designated a street in their capital The Martyrs of Sa'ada, after the remote and mountainous Yemeni province where Shia insurgents are battling government troops and artillery.

To the anger of Yemeni officials, another road in Tehran was recently named after Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi, a rebel leader killed in the fighting, according to Saudi-owned al-Arabiyya TV.

Iran Street in Yemen's capital Sana'a, meanwhile, has been renamed after Neda Agha Soltan, the young protester who was shot dead in June at the start of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's post-election crackdown in Iran – and whose dying moments were broadcast across the world.

The spat reflects Yemeni fury over claims that Iran is backing the Zaydi "Houthi" rebels, who accuse Yemen's government of religious, economic and political discrimination. The conflict has triggered armed intervention by neighbouring Saudi Arabia and exposed wider tensions between the Islamic Republic and Arab states.

The row has added piquancy because Iran Street in the Yemeni capital was originally given the name in honour of a visit by Mohammad Khatami, the two-term reformist president who preceded Ahmadinejad.Sana'a city council gave in to popular pressure because of Iran's alleged support for the Houthis – which is denied both by the rebels and by Tehran. Yemen has closed the city's Iranian hospital and claims to have captured a ship delivering arms and ammunition to the Houthis.

Iran has a history of politicising street names: following the 1979 Islamic revolution several were changed to reflect new realities. Winston Churchill Avenue, outside the British embassy compound in Tehran, became Bobby Sands Avenue, after the IRA hunger striker who died in the Maze prison. Los Angeles Avenue became the more politically correct Hijab Street.

Later a street in north Tehran was renamed The Martyr Khaled Islambouli, after the army officer who assassinated Egypt's president Anwar Sadat in 1981 for making peace with Israel. That remains a serious bone of contention between Cairo and Tehran, which severed diplomatic ties after Egypt sheltered the toppled shah. Iranian hardliners call Islambouli "one of the heroes of Islam's international movement".

Latest news

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Iran’s Youths Have Highest Unemployment Rate

The Iranian regime’s Eghtesad News website reported that data from the Statistical Center of Iran shows that the youth...

Must read

Iran: Producing Nuclear Bombs Under the Cover of a Religious Ban

Many years ago, the Iranian regime’s supreme leader Ali...

France condemns Iran nuclear move as ‘provocation’

CNN: The French Foreign Ministry condemned Tuesday the Iranian...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you