Iran in Midst of Protests
by logan mullan
Iran is amidst one of the biggest anti-government movement in eight years.
The rage behind these protests is centered around high unemployment, raising food prices, corrupt government and religious officials, and anger over leaked documents that contained plans to privatize schools and other industries during hard economic times.
The protests started in the northeastern part of the country in the city of Mashhad, far from the country’s capital, Tehran, where most anti-government protests usually begin in the country.
The absence of a leader forced the country’s youth and working poor to organized the protests that quickly spread to the entire country.
However, the protests didn’t stay peaceful. The twenty-two civilian deaths and the possible death of a police officer sparked anger from each side of the issue.
The violence convinced the Iranian government to block a popular app that was used by protesters used to organize, called Telegram. Their stated reason was to limit foreign intervention in the country’s affairs.
The protests gained the international spotlight, and countries like the US and Israel used civilian deaths and the blocking of communication apps as the basis for talks to remove the 2015 Nuclear Agreement and push for regime change.
It also gave the US a reason to apply more sanctions to Iran’s economy, potentially creating more protests and unrest in the country’s future.
The protest started to wind down on January 9, and it is unclear if those things could be achieved, especially since access to Telegram is being restored and government officials are calling for clemency for all those arrested in the protests.
Still, the calls for some kind of change in Iran have not gone away.
The rage behind these protests is centered around high unemployment, raising food prices, corrupt government and religious officials, and anger over leaked documents that contained plans to privatize schools and other industries during hard economic times.
The protests started in the northeastern part of the country in the city of Mashhad, far from the country’s capital, Tehran, where most anti-government protests usually begin in the country.
The absence of a leader forced the country’s youth and working poor to organized the protests that quickly spread to the entire country.
However, the protests didn’t stay peaceful. The twenty-two civilian deaths and the possible death of a police officer sparked anger from each side of the issue.
The violence convinced the Iranian government to block a popular app that was used by protesters used to organize, called Telegram. Their stated reason was to limit foreign intervention in the country’s affairs.
The protests gained the international spotlight, and countries like the US and Israel used civilian deaths and the blocking of communication apps as the basis for talks to remove the 2015 Nuclear Agreement and push for regime change.
It also gave the US a reason to apply more sanctions to Iran’s economy, potentially creating more protests and unrest in the country’s future.
The protest started to wind down on January 9, and it is unclear if those things could be achieved, especially since access to Telegram is being restored and government officials are calling for clemency for all those arrested in the protests.
Still, the calls for some kind of change in Iran have not gone away.