The last time we checked the status of Iran, President Donald Trump pulled us out of the hideous “Iran Deal” (much to the consternation of the European Union) and Israel’s Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu made a video appeal directly to the Iranian people.
The tag-teaming may have worked, as thousands of protesters swarmed Tehran’s historic Grand Bazaar, forcing its shutdown, in anger over Iran’s now very troubled economy.
The spontaneous demonstrations came a day after protests forced two major shopping centers for mobile phones and electronics to close in Tehran. It also signaled widespread unease beneath the surface in Iran in the wake of President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers.Iranian news agencies described the protests as erupting after the Iranian rial dropped to 90,000 to the dollar on the country’s black market, despite government attempts to control the currency rate.Riot police later fired tear gas to disperse the demonstrators as they marched towards parliament, the BBC reported.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the protests were the targets.
Old and tired: “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.” New and hot: “Death to Palestine” and “Death to Syria”.
Iranians protesting the country’s tanking currency on Monday were heard shouting “Death to Palestine” amid nationwide anger over the Islamic Republic’s increasingly troubled economy.At a crossroads in central Tehran, police fired tear gas at dozens of youths shouting slogans and throwing stones, eyewitnesses said, while traders in the Iranian capital’s Grand Bazaar held a rare protest strike.
For those of you who do not speak Farsi, here are some more of today’s chants.
Professor Jacobson has been following the Iranian troubles in Syria, which are obviously a source of anger at Iran’s leaders by its citizens. Recently, a huge Iranian missile depot was destroyed.
The reference to Reza Shah is interesting, as he his popularity has increased as the nation has steadily declined. The son of the former shah, however, as no interest in taking the throne.
“My father was king, and I was the crown prince,” he told me in an interview this month. “I have always said to my compatriots: It’s not the form that matters, it’s the content; I believe Iran must be a secular, parliamentary democracy. The final form has to be decided by the people.”…Pahlavi himself for more than 20 years has consistently said he is not seeking the throne. Today he takes no money from any foreign governments. Instead, Pahlavi sees himself as someone who can bring attention in the free world to the struggle for freedom in his native land.
There is precedent for a royal leader to take a democratically elected position. Simeon II of Bulgaria was king from 1943 to 1946, then came back as Prime Minister between 2001 and 2005.
Legal Insurrection readers will recall that after former President Obama declared Yemen a “success” story, the nation broke out in a civil war. The rebel Houthis were backed by Iran, and the national forces were supported by Saudi Arabia and eight other mostly Sunni Arab states.
The conflict has lasted 3 years, and Iran is now begging the international community to intervene because of recent defeats.
Iran has urged the international community to intervene and stop the Saudi war on Yemen, where an ongoing offensive against the Mediterranean port of Hudaydah has put the country on the brink of famine.Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi told reporters in Tehran Monday that Iran is in contact with the regional and European governments in order to find a way to send relief aid and other humanitarian assistance to Yemen.
One last item for the Iran-focused news round-up. Truckers throughout the nation have been staging massive protests for the past several weeks.
On May 22, truckers in several towns turned off their engines to call for higher freight rates. While the government had ruled months ago that freight rates would increase by up to 20%, workers were angered that this promise had remained largely unimplemented. Truckers also called for higher pensions, better health insurance and cheaper truck repair facilities.The protest spread like wildfire. Although the total numbers of participants is unknown, one sympathetic foreign union (the Teamsters) estimated the strike affected an unprecedented 160 cities in 25 out of the country’s 31 provinces. Iran counts over half a million registered truck drivers.
It appears that the arrival of the infamous 12th Imam may be delayed a bit.
*UPDATE
Looks like the regime is ready to throw down the iron fist.
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