Protests in Iran

[SATW]

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Utter nonsense. The true enemy of any country are people within their borders who don't respect them. The Shah was preferable to this Islamic cesspool, but was hardly angelic himself.

Iran has proven that it can be secular and democratic via its people and it needs to be returned to the international community. One of the world's oldest and well-respected communities does not need people like you shilling for the Islamic regime.

[King Lear]

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Utter nonsense. The true enemy of any country are people within their borders who don't respect them. The Shah was preferable to this Islamic cesspool, but was hardly angelic himself.

Iran has proven that it can be secular and democratic via its people and it needs to be returned to the international community. One of the world's oldest and well-respected communities does not need people like you shilling for the Islamic regime.

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Finally someone is telling the truth, Yes Iran has its problems, but compared to most other Muslim countries it’s relatively Free and Democratic (women can vote their for example), and America and Israel have no right to undermine and destroy their country by supporting violent protests and making up a fake Nuclear threat in order to have an excuse to bomb them. Finally, it’s mighty hypocritical for America to condemn countries for cracking down on protesters, because if the Republican government in the United States ever faced the types of mass demonstrations Iran’s government has faced, I could assure you they would have Tanks and Soldiers gunning people down in the street without a second thought.

[thumb21]

I think people are reading too far into this. They are protests. Protests happen all the time everywhere. The Iranian government is probably safe for now. This is something I would keep an eye on though because it could escalate. Hopefully not, because anyone who thinks the Iranian government will fall and then there will be a modern, democratic, peaceful Iran is mistaken. The Iranian government remains with a lot of public support. Rouhani was just re-elected by a very strong landslide. There is also Syria, Hezbollah, the Iraqi PMU who have benefited from years of Iranian support and may want to return the favour.

Rouhani is a moderate reformist. His opponents he beat in a landslide were the hardliners.

I think thumb's point is that the election had a decent turnout giving the regime a bit of 'legitimacy'.

Kinda.

My point is that a president who just won an election with 57% of the vote with 73% turnout is not a president who is about to be rebelled against, even if some of that support was for a lesser of evils.

[King Lear]

I think people are reading too far into this. They are protests. Protests happen all the time everywhere. The Iranian government is probably safe for now. This is something I would keep an eye on though because it could escalate. Hopefully not, because anyone who thinks the Iranian government will fall and then there will be a modern, democratic, peaceful Iran is mistaken. The Iranian government remains with a lot of public support. Rouhani was just re-elected by a very strong landslide. There is also Syria, Hezbollah, the Iraqi PMU who have benefited from years of Iranian support and may want to return the favour.

Rouhani is a moderate reformist. His opponents he beat in a landslide were the hardliners.

I think thumb's point is that the election had a decent turnout giving the regime a bit of 'legitimacy'.

Kinda.

My point is that a president who just won an election with 57% of the vote with 73% turnout is not a president who is about to be rebelled against, even if some of that support was for a lesser of evils.

Their election had more legitimacy then ours, because while ours had 60% turnout theirs had 73% turnout and while our leader won 46% of the vote (Trump lost the popular vote and only won because of the undemocratic electoral college) their leader won 57% of the vote so who’s really spose to lecture who about Democratic elections?

[Blair]

Well no, because turnout isn't the only score you should use to measure how democratic an electoral system, or a country is, but of course you know.

All candidates have to be approved by the Guardian Council, which is dominated by the Clerics. In fact all of Iranian Politics is dominated by an un-elected clerical class, headed by the Supreme Leader, who has absolute powers, that would be an 18th Monarch blush.

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I know it's the internet, but as a general rule, if you're defending a theocratic regime, you're doing something wrong. It's possible, as I'd wager a vast majority of Iranians in 1979 did, to support a democratic, liberal Iran, that didn't grant power to either the Shah's or the Clerics.

[thumb21]

I think people are reading too far into this. They are protests. Protests happen all the time everywhere. The Iranian government is probably safe for now. This is something I would keep an eye on though because it could escalate. Hopefully not, because anyone who thinks the Iranian government will fall and then there will be a modern, democratic, peaceful Iran is mistaken. The Iranian government remains with a lot of public support. Rouhani was just re-elected by a very strong landslide. There is also Syria, Hezbollah, the Iraqi PMU who have benefited from years of Iranian support and may want to return the favour.

Rouhani is a moderate reformist. His opponents he beat in a landslide were the hardliners.

I think thumb's point is that the election had a decent turnout giving the regime a bit of 'legitimacy'.

Kinda.

My point is that a president who just won an election with 57% of the vote with 73% turnout is not a president who is about to be rebelled against, even if some of that support was for a lesser of evils.

Their election had more legitimacy then ours, because while ours had 60% turnout theirs had 73% turnout and while our leader won 46% of the vote (Trump lost the popular vote and only won because of the undemocratic electoral college) their leader won 57% of the vote so who’s really spose to lecture who about Democratic elections?

American election candidates don't have to be approved my a bunch of clerics.

Also the Iranian elections are less important because the unelected Ayatollah has the final say.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

Thanks to Trump not being able to keep his tiny hands quiet, whatever chance this would have amounted to something is probably gone because the protesters will be painted as puppets of the Great Satan.

you say that as if they were not painted that way in 2009.  Not everything is Trump's fault or made worse by him.  Again, he's a horrible President, doing and saying horrible things on a daily basis, we shouldn't waste a second making up sh**t about him.

Of course, they'd be painted that way.  Trump just made it easier for them to do what they were going to do anyway by being his usual unhelpful egotistical self.  That said, I probably am a little too quick to make fun of Donny.  It's hard not too given his propensity to "tweet loudly and carry a golf club" instead of "speak softly and carry a big stick".

[Famous Mortimer]

This will play out exactly like the Egyptian Revolution...and the 1979 Iranian Revolution for that matter.

Liberal urbanite anger will overthrown the repressive government, free elections will give a voice to the conservative ruralites, and they will make themselves heard by electing an even more conservative government.

There is no liberal opposition in Iran. The liberals are in power right now, they are the ones who stand to be overthrown. Anti-regime liberals do not exist inside the country and they have very little support outside the country either, most are nakedly the front groups of foreign powers.

I suspect this whole thing will just blow over, if it doesn't, it will end in President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

[Foucaulf]

Liberal urbanite anger will overthrown the repressive government

If anything these protests have been most chaotic among "conservative" regional cities out of Tehran.

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Iran's current repressed elections already do, never mind the machinations of the Revolutionary Guard?

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The high-turnout election in 2017 already showed a non-conservative like Rouhani can win a large swath of the country, nor as if there's an ultra-conservative force lurking in Iran that's really that worse than the whole gamut of mullahs on display now.

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There is, are you kidding me? The Rouhani government isn't full of late 90s "reformists..."

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Again, Rouhani is a relative reformist but still very much part of the establishment. One of the great uncertainties of the current protests is how anti-establishment the protesters are, and how they could overshadow the reformist politics of older generations.

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I don't have insider knowledge on this, but did you not even acknowledge some of the pro-Shah slogans at protests a few days ago? This is probably one of the least silly things you wrote here, but you make it sound like it's a shock that Iranians aren't allying with self absorbed American neocons.

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Yes, every authoritarian country says that, but if anything the front groups in Iran are markedly illiberal (like the MEK)

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Another one of the less silly things you wrote, though the long term consequences are unclear...

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Wow, very scary. The non-elecfed elements of Iranian politics have continued interventionism that his bellicose rhetoric has suggested, so how big would that really be?

You usually at least pretend to be more well informed than this, so I don't know what happened. I'm not calling myself an expert either - I'm just trying to read up on the issue, some of which I documented on AAD.

[Sestak]

Guys, the only "true enemy" of the Iranian people are the Ayatollah's regime and its allies.

And Iran's elections are basically a joke. Even if a more moderate candidate can get past the Guardian Council and win, Khamenei is still ultimately the one in control.

[Strudelcutie4427]

Cant believe people on here are standing with the nutcase leadership of Iran. Iran is the land of Xerxes and Cyrus the Great, it is a country in which the people are sick of living under 7th century law. The Ayatollah is a creep and one of the worst tyrants in the world today. As the younger Iranians are saying, Death to Khamenei

[swf541]

Cant believe people on here are standing with the nutcase leadership of Iran. Iran is the land of Xerxes and Cyrus the Great, it is a country in which the people are sick of living under 7th century law. The Ayatollah is a creep and one of the worst tyrants in the world today. As the younger Iranians are saying, Death to Khamenei

100% agreed

[Famous Mortimer]

Guys, the only "true enemy" of the Iranian people are the Ayatollah's regime and its allies.

And Iran's elections are basically a joke. Even if a more moderate candidate can get past the Guardian Council and win, Khamenei is still ultimately the one in control.

The Guardians Council doesn't just prevent liberal candidates (who would probably have no chance of winning anyway) from running, it also keeps more radical conservatives from running. They kept Ahmadinejad off the ballot last time.

[Strudelcutie4427]

Guys, the only "true enemy" of the Iranian people are the Ayatollah's regime and its allies.

And Iran's elections are basically a joke. Even if a more moderate candidate can get past the Guardian Council and win, Khamenei is still ultimately the one in control.

The Guardians Council doesn't just prevent liberal candidates (who would probably have no chance of winning anyway) from running, it also keeps more radical conservatives from running. They kept Ahmadinejad off the ballot last time.

Still, by their standards thats like them saying, "Oh Hitler's too radical so here's Mussolini"

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

Unfortunately, this is most likely gonna end like the 2009 protests did, the protests are less populated and more spread out this time.

[Famous Mortimer]

Guys, the only "true enemy" of the Iranian people are the Ayatollah's regime and its allies.

And Iran's elections are basically a joke. Even if a more moderate candidate can get past the Guardian Council and win, Khamenei is still ultimately the one in control.

The Guardians Council doesn't just prevent liberal candidates (who would probably have no chance of winning anyway) from running, it also keeps more radical conservatives from running. They kept Ahmadinejad off the ballot last time.

Still, by their standards thats like them saying, "Oh Hitler's too radical so here's Mussolini"

Well once the mullahs are overthrown, Hitler can run and he'll have a pretty good chance of winning.

[MATTROSE94]

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Utter nonsense. The true enemy of any country are people within their borders who don't respect them. The Shah was preferable to this Islamic cesspool, but was hardly angelic himself.

Iran has proven that it can be secular and democratic via its people and it needs to be returned to the international community. One of the world's oldest and well-respected communities does not need people like you shilling for the Islamic regime.

Whenever there is any kind of mass protest in Iran (especially the "Green" movement protests from 2009-2011), I wonder if the end is near for the current regime in power. The Iranian people never asked for a theocratic regime after the overthrow of the Shah...it just so happened that the followers of Khomenei were the most visible and organized compared to the pro-democracy advocates and communists. I am of the opinion that the people will eventually rise up and overthrow their current government, it's only a matter of time. But, it is hard to say when protests like these end up creating a domino effect that takes down the entire government (like 1979).

Hopefully sooner rather than later. If a liberal, pro-democracy regime takes over, then we can start talking about restoring good relations with Iran.

It's amazing to think that Iran and Israel had fairly good relations until 1979 considering how poor relations are right now. If I am not mistaken, Iran was the second Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel (after Turkey). I took a Persian history class in college and I remember a discussion on how Israel and Iran were actually natural allies at one point because of their mutual distrust of Arabs...

Well, Iran was certainly not a pro-democracy regime before 1979. They had even fewer freedoms then.

I agree 100%. The Shah of Iran was one of the most infamous and brutal dictators of the 20th Century. Some of the more notable crimes committed by the Shah include his killing of 160,000 innocent Iranians between 1963 and 1978, ordering agencies such as SAVAK to bayonet any woman caught wearing the Hijab or other religious attire, suppressing freedom of speech, torturing thousands of political prisoners using the most heinous methods imaginable, and forming alliances with enemy nations such as the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK. As such, the Shahs overthrow was logical, justified, and came 100% from the Iranian people without any outside intervention.

There are no countries that are objectively enemies of another country. If you form an alliance with a country its no longer your enemy. It may in some cases be an untrustworthy ally, but its not an enemy.

The US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have always been against the interests of Iran and have sought to subjugate the Iranian people for decades, so I consider them to be the true enemies of Iran.

Finally someone is telling the truth, Yes Iran has its problems, but compared to most other Muslim countries it’s relatively Free and Democratic (women can vote their for example), and America and Israel have no right to undermine and destroy their country by supporting violent protests and making up a fake Nuclear threat in order to have an excuse to bomb them. Finally, it’s mighty hypocritical for America to condemn countries for cracking down on protesters, because if the Republican government in the United States ever faced the types of mass demonstrations Iran’s government has faced, I could assure you they would have Tanks and Soldiers gunning people down in the street without a second thought.

I agree 100%. I am not saying that the Iranian government is perfect, but it is arguably the most stable country in the region, is a democracy on paper (albeit an “illiberal” democracy in practice) and has a FAR better human rights record when compared to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States that are constantly praised for their “progressive” nature by the US and Israel.

What The US and it’s allies such as Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UK have done to Iran since the early 1950s has been shameful and has directly created nearly all of the problems currently facing Iran. The destructive policies pursued by all four of the countries (ranging from their strong support of the Shah and directly encouraging his crimes against the Iranian people, encouraging Saddam Hussein to invade Iran in 1980, and placing crippling sanctions on Iran that prevent even he most basic of medicines from entering into the country) resulted in the deaths of at least 1-2 million innocent Iranian people.  As such US  made a terrible mistake by supporting the Shah and planning out Operation AJAX in 1953. We Americans should NEVER support a brutal monarch again. What a terrible mistake to train and supply SAVAK, which was basically an Iranian Gestapo. We should have embraced Mossadegh as a democratic ruler, and helped the Iranian people become members of a real democratic republic.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

Who the hell praises the Gulf states for bring progressive?

[junior chįmp]

Lol

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[America Needs R'hllor]

Lol

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And the Iranians should focus on stopping their religious police from hanging gays rather than attacking Israel and expanding their influence into Syria and Yemen. So what? They'll not do it, and neither will Trump.

[King Lear]

I hope the Iranian Government crushes these Trump-supported, CIA orchestrated, Protests. America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have no right to overthrow Iran's Government and I totally stand with Iran's Government against Zionist, Neoconservative, and Wahabbi aggression.

[#TheShadowyAbyss]

I hope the Iranian Government crushes these Trump-supported, CIA orchestrated, Protests. America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have no right to overthrow Iran's Government and I totally stand with Iran's Government against Zionist, Neoconservative, and Wahabbi aggression.

wat

[JA]

I hope the Iranian Government crushes these Trump-supported, CIA orchestrated, Protests. America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have no right to overthrow Iran's Government and I totally stand with Iran's Government against Zionist, Neoconservative, and Wahabbi aggression.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I hope the Iranian Government crushes these Trump-supported, CIA orchestrated, Protests. America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia have no right to overthrow Iran's Government and I totally stand with Iran's Government against Zionist, Neoconservative, and Wahabbi aggression.

No one under 13 should be on here anyway.
(Is that 13 decimeters?  Seems odd to have a height standard for riding the Atlas, but it would be at least as easy to enforce as an age standard.)

[All Along The Watchtower]

Who the hell praises the Gulf states for bring progressive?

Public relations firms in DC and London?