As if history repeated itself, Iran is again affected by protests. Maybe this time, they will overthrow the government and establish a more democratic one? For the fifth day, there have been anti-government protests against the economic conditions. Since December 28, people have gathered in Masshad, the second largest city in Iran. There is a lot of blaming on Iran's foreign policy, the regional conflicts, but nevertheless the blame is still on the government.
Now that many are dead, over 400 are arrested, will it continue on? The government has already tried to limit access to Instagram and other means of social media, so there goes an infringement of rights that will only make them even more mad. The other problem is that there are counter demonstrations from those who are pro-government.
Prices are rising, along with massive unemployment, tied in with politics. There is a lot of dissent among the politics within the country, so that feeds the fire of the protesters. It doesn't help that the government keeps blaming "foreign agents" for deaths and other people.
At least President Rouhini acknowledges the citizens's rights to protest in a peaceful manner, but is it really guaranteeing those rights. To many it seems that Iran is arresting innocent non-violent protesters as well. Countries around the world are speaking out against the government's violations of human rights. The government has threatened execution for those arrested, which would not help tease the tensions.
The economy has somewhat improved under the 2015 deal with the U.S. but it seems to not be helping the citizens enough. It's a problem when inflation is 10%. Despite the fact they can sell oil to other countries, it is not bringing enough deals. Iran still basically hates the U.S., and it doesn't help that the U.S. is getting closer with Saudi Arabia, Iran's sworn enemy that seems to growing in momentum as it grants women more rights and has purged corrupted officials.
About eight years ago in 2009, thousands of Iranians also protested against the government and appealed to Obama for help, who was reluctant to help topple the government and bring about democracy... possibly because he wanted that nuclear deal... hmmm. And so, while Obama sat silent, protesters were carried away and crushed. Maybe this this the world will act. If the U.S. could impose pressure on Iran and leverage its way in, perhaps it can curb Iran's sponsoring of terrorism
Perhaps we may not have a corrupted pro-western government like under former Shah Reza Pahlavi (the cause of the Iranian Revolution that brought Iranians to this government today), but we may see some dramatic results.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/12/protests-iran-171231083620343.html
https://www.wsj.com/articles/khamenei-blames-irans-enemies-for-protests-1514897194
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2018/01/02/trumps-iran-opportunity-give-mullahs-push.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42541171
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