I was out and about and offline most of the day and am just now getting caught up with the day’s news. Apparently there were anti-government protests across Iran today.
Continuing protests across Iran with slogans such as "mullahs, have some shame, let go of the country" reflect deep anger at clerical rule, corruption, economic mismanagement, etc. years in making. Left unaddressed, the irreconcilable conflicts will lead to revolution. pic.twitter.com/OxjXEBV7GX
— Amir Toumaj (@AmirToumaj) December 29, 2017
Chants in the holy city of Qom tonight, the spiritual center of #Iran: “We don’t want an Islamic Republic!” pic.twitter.com/ilawigFGej
— Holly Dagres (@hdagres) December 29, 2017
''سوریه را رها کن، فکری به حال ما کن''
شعار مردم #ساری در تظاهرات امروز pic.twitter.com/O39bxUg0O4— BBC Persian (@bbcpersian) December 29, 2017
And there are now calls for a second day of protests on 30 December 2017.
Posters circulating in social media are calling for another day of rally against "tyranny," "corruption," "etc" tomorrow, which coincides with regime anniversary of 9th Dey, a state-sponsored rally in 2009, 6 months after first election protests, which "neutralized sedition" pic.twitter.com/GGnaex3qvi
— Amir Toumaj (@AmirToumaj) December 29, 2017
I honestly am not sure what to make of what is going on. The last time we saw protests like this they led to no actual changes and the organizers manipulated imagery by shooting pictures and videos from multiple angles, using forced perspective, and even using pictures and videos from protests in other parts of the Middle East to try to convince non-Iranians that far more activity of far greater consequence was occurring. I’ll keep tracking this tomorrow and will update if anything significant occurs. These types of popular protests often (usually) don’t go anywhere, but the times when they do they tend to move very fast and catch everyone flat footed. Not least the governments they seek to overturn.
ETA:
I highly recommend this thread by Karim Sadjadpour. Lot of good information in it.
Thread: Iran’s protests–including in traditional cities like Qom and Mashhad–are a reminder of the country’s deep political, social, and above all economic frustrations https://t.co/PRT1RUTdNX
— Karim Sadjadpour (@ksadjadpour) December 29, 2017
Stay frosty!
Something Is Going On In Iran: Calls For Second Day of ProtestsPost + Comments (38)