Protests in Iran

[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.

Here are several links going into detail regarding the Shahs crimes:
https://www.google.com/amp/www.newsweek.com/watching-torture-94887%3famp=1
http://www.ghandchi.com/14-Savak.htm
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1979/12/6/life-under-the-shah-pit-was/

[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.

[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.