The Iranian people will not be able to stay home and drop in and out for commercial breaks. Just like the 1979 Iranian Revolution, the next one will take place in the rural, suburban, and urban streets of North Tehran.
The long wait to march triumphantly into Azadi Square (Freedom Square) will only be televised to the world after the Iranian people are in the streets to make political change a reality on the ground.
The expansion of protests in Iran constitutes a crisis for the Iranian regime and an opportunity to use the people’s resentment as leverage against the regime, per Tanter in Newsmax. The accelerating crisis in Iran marks an opportunity to change the regime from within. The people are in the streets to make their revolution happen, and they need the political, technological, and moral support of the West.
The Story Behind the Story
The 2009 anti-government protests in Iran were backed up by the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI); Western powers turned a blind eye to the regime’s brutal crackdowns. As a result, now is time to move in another direction. The accelerating crisis is an opportunity to change the Iranian regime from within.
The Iranian people are in the streets to make their revolution happen on the ground, per Tanter, Jan. 4, in The Hill, with the technological support of the West. Also see The Washington Post, Jan. 3, 2018.
Why Are the Iranian People Protesting?
On Dec. 28, 2017, protests began in the northern city of Mashhad, prompted, at first, by concern over Iran’s underdeveloped economy and humongous prices for basic goods like eggs. Costs saw a 40 percent jump in price. Over the next six days, protests in more than two dozen towns turned into an open rebellion against Iran’s leadership.
Fast Forward
Consider four reasons why today’s protests are larger than December 2017-January 2018 demonstrations:
1) Those in Tehran are much larger than any other prior protests, except for the 1979 and 2009 demonstrations.
2) The Iranian Bazaar is a force of conservatism: It provides ties between the unelected Ayatollahs and middle class business leaders. The 1979 Revolution received strong backing from the “Bazaaris.” The Grand Bazaar of Tehran was a center for prorevolutionary activity during 1979. It is the backbone of Iran’s economy.
3) The slogans are confrontational, addressing the very existence of the regime, and far more profound than recent previous slogans.
4) Despite the regime’s propaganda, increased pressure on the regime, by Washington, pays off, as the people chant, “Our enemy is right here; the regime lies when claiming, it is America.” This slogan is a clear support for President Trump’s firm policy on Iran.
Expansion of protests constitutes a crisis for the regime and an opportunity to use the people’s resentment as leverage against it.
Among factors distinguishing today’s protests from 2009 is the smartphone. Yes, a phone can be a dangerous instrument of revolutionary change, per BCC.
The NCRI network inside Iran has been entirely focused on fueling unrest as it formed “rebel units,” across the country. They encourage and lead protests. Tehran state-run media is attacking Madame Rajavi, President-Elect of the NCRI, as a result of today’s protests.
Below are hyperlinks to current demonstrations; below people are chanting, “Our enemy is right here; they lie when they say it is America”
Below click here for a hyper link to June 25 demonstrations. They are widespread, spreading across the country, with angry crowds chanting “Canon, Tank, Firecrackers; Mullah must be killed,” a reference to the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and the clerics (mullahs) associated with his regime.
Click here for a video clip, on June 25, in Tehran. People are chanting, “Leave alone Syria, think about us,” and “Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, I give my life for Iran.”
Click here for a video on June 25, in Tehran, people are chanting, “We need no trashy leader (Ali Khamenei).”
Click here for a clip, on June 25, to view people chant in Tehran, “Death to the Dictator, (Ali Khamenei).”
Click here for a clip in Tehran, on June 25, where people chant, “We do not want mullahs rule!”
The Way Forward
Interviews, by yours truly, with supporters of the Iranian resistance, attending the annual rally, which begins June 30, proffer a way forward to Azadi Square.
Firms and states helping Tehran use repressive apparatus — including those providing censorship technology — may face censure from Washington. The Telegram app, on YouTube, is one such device for protestors to coordinate where to go next.
Second, the United States should support these peaceful protests, at least, with strong rhetoric that reaches the mainstream press. It is time for another review of Iran Policy, such as the Iran Policy Review and National Security Strategy.
Third, the growing Iranian threat in the region has led to a "tectonic" shift in the Middle East, making room for new alliances, “Iran putting boots on the ground in Syria, and having Turkey gradually becoming part of it, is the new Axis of Evil.”
Prof. Raymond Tanter (@ProfRTanter) served as a senior member on the Middle East Desk of the National Security Council staff in the Reagan-Bush administration, Personal Representative of the Secretary of Defense to international security and arms control talks in Europe, and is now Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan. Tanter is on the comprehensive list of conservative writers and columnists who appear in The Wall Street Journal, Townhall.com, National Review, The Weekly Standard, Human Events, The American Spectator, and now in Newsmax. To read more of his reports — Click Here Now.
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