by Jubin Katiraie

As the protests in Iran began, some compared them to those that occurred in 2009. However, these protests differ in in their message. The cause for the 2009 protests was a rift within the regime. Now, the people are demanding an end to the regime. On the streets this week slogans against velayat-e faqih (absolute clerical rule) and against the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as President, Hassan Rouhani were heard.

In her article for the Wall Street Journal, Maryam Rajavi, president-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran, an Iranian opposition coalition based in Paris, writes that, “This dispels the myth, still harbored by some governments, that Iranians distinguish between moderates and hard-liners in Tehran. It also undercuts flawed arguments depicting a stable regime.”

Iran Focus

London, 9 Jan – The Iranian Regime is terrorizing its own people and too many countries are content to keep it going.

When the United Nations Security Council held an emergency session last week to discuss the protests against the Iranian regime, they failed to take action against the Iranian theocracy and instead focused on the irrelevant Iranian nuclear deal. They turned a blind eye to the cries of the Iranian people and for what reason?

Iran Focus

London, 9 Jan – The Iranian Regime is resorting to violent crackdowns through its suppressive militias over the recent protests that have taken the country by storm, but this will not stop the people of Iran from demanding their freedom, according to one political scientist.

Iranian expert Dr. Majid Rafizadeh wrote an op-ed for Arab News entitled “Iran is permanently on the verge of a revolution” in which he explained that these crackdowns- that have so far killed at least 50 people and imprisoned 1000- will fail to suppress the Iranian people’s desire for revolution.

The Regime has not only deployed its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and volunteer militia organization Basij to fire on unarmed protesters, arrest peaceful demonstrators, and kill many, but they have also cut off the protesters access to the internet- by slowing down speeds and blocking certain apps- to prevent them communicating with each other and the outside world.

Iran Focus

London, 9 Jan – Thanks to global backlash over the restriction of certain social media outlets and other internet properties during the protest in Iran, the Iranian Regime may be rethinking their cyber battle against protesters.

President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that he did not want to “permanently” restrict the people’s access to social media, which contradicts the Regime’s decision to block Instagram and Telegram in December because it was believed that they were fuelling the widespread protests across Iran.

He said: “People’s access to cyberspace should not be cut permanently; one cannot be indifferent to people’s lives and businesses. Every technology can be abused by some; we cannot block the technology and the benefits that people are taking from it.”

Iran Focus

London, 9 Jan – For nearly two weeks now protests are mushrooming across Iran and literally shaking the very pillars of the country’s ruling regime. Various discussions continue over the scope of these protests, their comparisons to the 2009 and 1999 uprising episodes, what should be expected from the international community and how to trek forward, amongst other subjects.

What goes neglected to this day is the main source of the Iranian regime’s fear. Yes, this regime has a history of quelling small protests and major uprising, especially thanks to the world’s deafening silence.

Iran Focus

London, 8 Jan – There are many things that have paved the way to the Iranian protests from the Regime’s inadequate reaction to the November earthquake which left 30,000 homeless to the severe cuts made in the Regime’s latest budget proposal to the massive hike in basic food products, but at the centre of it all is corruption and abuse by the Iranian Regime.

Majid Ahadi, a 25-year-old mechanic, took to the streets on Friday, December 29, to protest endemic corruption and mismanagement.

He said: “You hear about one thing or another sparking the demonstrations, but it wasn’t a single thing – it was a perfect storm. There was so much pressure on the people, it just exploded.”

Iran Focus

London, 8 Jan – The Vice President of the USA, Mike Pence, wrote an op-ed for Washington Post voicing his support for the Iranian people and stating that Donald Trump will not ignore the Iranian people’s cries for freedom.

Pence explained that during the 2009 Green Revolution- which was much smaller than the current protests- brave Iranians stood up to denounce a fraudulent election and demand an end to the brutal regime that suppressed them.

He wrote: “Those brave protesters looked to the leader of the free world for support. But as I saw firsthand as a member of Congress, [Barack Obama] the president of the United States stayed silent.”