Iran’s anti-government protests continue for a fifth day in a row with the regime finally acknowledging protesters but also, according to unconfirmed social media reports, special forces on the streets to stop protesters as more people are killed and wounded.
Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani addressed protesters in a speech on national television saying “people have the right to criticise”, whilst at the same time warning that criticism is distinct “from violence and destroying public properties”.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Demonstrators in Iran stopped an Islamic Revolutionary Guard van carrying arrested protesters.<br>City: Tehran <br>Cameraman yells: "Topple it!"<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranProtests</a> <a href="https://t.co/Ra1MUhZTff">pic.twitter.com/Ra1MUhZTff</a></p>— Armin Navabi (@ArminNavabi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArminNavabi/status/947629911631466498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">1 January 2018</a></blockquote>
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Although the size of the protests is probably still smaller than those seen at its zenith in 2009 against Ahmedinnejad, the trouble for the Iranian mullahs this time as that they are spread all over the country and that they seem much more organized. Having to deal with a large group of protesters in Teheran alone could be doable for the Iranian government, having to deal with 30 different protests all around the Persian countryside means it is still spreading.
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Update104?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Update104</a>-<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Breaking_News?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Breaking_News</a> in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Iran?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Iran</a>.<br>Security forces attacked protesters in south and North west of the country.People protecting themselves and in some cities people are trying to take over IRGC bases.<br>In <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/ShahinDej?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#ShahinDej</a> IRGC has killed 3 and wounded 11.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranProtests</a> <a href="https://t.co/XtRuwE8jye">pic.twitter.com/XtRuwE8jye</a></p>— Raman Ghavami (@Raman_Ghavami) <a href="https://twitter.com/Raman_Ghavami/status/947667511948070912?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">1 January 2018</a></blockquote>
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Furthermore, the 2009 protests were simply against Ahmedinejad, and the criticism now is much more varied. The chants being heard so far vary from “we don’t want an Islamic Republic” in Najafabad, “death to the revolutionary guards” in Rasht, and “death to the dictator” in Khoramabad.
And the site of the start of the protests, Mashhad, left the Iranian regime with the very actual: “leave Syria alone, think about us.”
<blockquote class="twitter-video" data-lang="en-gb"><p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BREAKING?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BREAKING</a>: The Islamic regime deploys Special Forces to streets of Tehran against the protestors. <br>The woman says: "They are not showing this on TV."<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IranProtests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IranProtests</a> RT TO SPREAD THE MESSAGE NOW <a href="https://t.co/tcnmW2ZDCA">pic.twitter.com/tcnmW2ZDCA</a></p>— Politics Condensed (@PCondensed) <a href="https://twitter.com/PCondensed/status/947646194968383488?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">1 January 2018</a></blockquote>
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Just as my colleague Redpill continues to prose in harsher terms, the international commentators are by now admitting that back in 2009 the Obama administration offered only tepid support to the Green Movement uprisings in Iran, an action that Ms Hillary Clinton later described as her biggest regret as Secretary of State.
The difference with current President Trump, very active on Twitter so far in firstly publicizing the protests and secondly warning the regime that ‘the world is watching.’
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Mainstream Us media blackout on this. Thanks Goldwater.