Hundreds Arrested in Anti and Pro-Government Protests That Killed 21 in Iran
PHOTO: Protests to ring in the New Year in Tehran, the capital of Iran.
UPDATE: Iranian officials now confirmed reports that at least 21 people have died in a US-encouraged protest in Iranian cities. The death toll has been rising for days, with over hundreds of injuries and arrests.
The last Iranian revolution was back in 1979. That really isn't that long ago. Within the past century, Iran has been immune to at least four major revolutions. As 2018 rings in the deeply divided country, the New Year probably won't be too peaceful.
In a rare show of anti-government protests, citizens nation-wide are calling for the 'death of the dictator' and chanting towards the globe to 'forget about Israel, Palestine and Syria' and to 'focus on [Iranians]'.
Last time a protest of a similar fashion in Iran happened was back in 2009, when President Obama was in power. He underwent harsh criticism, specifically by Republicans, for not being very vocal on the issue and not voicing support for the anti-Iranian government's protesters.
This time around, US President Donald Trump isn't only being vocal in support of the protesters but is in fact encouraging the protesters to continue their so-called 'peaceful' acts of anti-government demonstrations.
All the meanwhile the Iranian government is responding harshly; though definitely not as badly as many would predict. The Iranian leader stated that he isn't telling the protesters not to protest; but to do it legally. Seeing as the demonstrations were not sanctioned by the government, they technically fully render illegal. But that isn't what Rouhani is focused on. He doesn't want violence, or so he says.
According to state-run media reports out of Tehran, many demonstrators had resulted in public violence against police officers, vandalism and many other forms of destruction of public Iranian property. The violence was seen as horrible by the Iranian leadership, of which later called for certain areas of protests to be terminated.
Trump called out Rouhani's government for 'oppressing Iranian citizens for far too long', in a rare support from an American president of which is encouraging the apparent rebellion in a nation that has threatened the US before.
One of the major distastes from the US and Iranian leaders are the Iranian nuclear advancements halted by the American government a while back. With Iran now saying they will continue building missiles and Trump threatening to cut the Iran nuclear deal, the future of the two country's peaceful stances to each other is threatened.
Whether or not the new protests rising in Iran can develop into their fifth revolution in only a century remains uncertain, but hopefully and hopefully not. In the case of stability, another war-torn nation in the middle-east can give terror groups like ISIS, al-Qaeda, the Taliban and numerous others the chance to grow spectacularly. But in the case of freedoms for the citizens of Iran, they probably need a government change.
A petition to encourage President Obama's vocal support of the Iranian protesters now that he is out of power has gone viral on Twitter, though probably won't lead to his condemnation of the Iranian government. It's just too touchy of a situation. Let's not forget; Russia is very friendly with Iran. And tensions between NATO countries and the Kremlin will be damaged with any vocal support of the Iranian rebels.