The equations have changed, and the government must wake up.
The equations have changed, and the government must wake up as public protests in Iran enter their third month, and narratives of our people’s demands in various cities have become a main part of the daily news we follow. What is somewhat difficult to believe in the current situation is the change in international equations for Iran’s regime on one hand, and the people of Iran on the other. A few months ago, if we had heard that before the end of the year 1401 (2022), Iran would participate in the Ukraine conflict,
its nuclear program would be more controlled than ever, and at the same time, its sanctions would not be lifted. Meanwhile, its security and intelligence activities in European countries and the US would be tracked and neutralized like Russia and China’s activities in those countries, it would have been hard to believe. All of this has happened, and the people of Iran are not mere spectators of international developments.
Now, the headlines related to Iran in the international arena are not about Iran’s participation in the invasion and occupation of Ukraine, nor are they about Iran’s security plans for assassinations and kidnappings in Western countries, nor about the nuclear deal. The people of Iran are at the forefront of the news.
Western media have come to understand Iran better.
In recent months, an interesting phenomenon in Western media is the deepening of news and analyses provided on these platforms about Iran. The widespread protests in various regions of Iran on one hand, and the increasing meticulousness of European and American experts and journalists to maximize the accuracy of their news, have led to some Westerners hearing the names of certain Iranian cities from their country’s journalists for the first time.
Iran’s ethnic diversity has been reflected in international news in an unprecedented manner, and on the other hand, this more precise and deeper reflection of news has led many Westerners to become more familiar with the cultural richness of our country than before.
In recent months, Western media have engaged in fact-checking news coming from Iran. The latest example was the intense media shock resulting from the false news of the issuance of execution orders for fifteen thousand Iranian protesters. Western media quickly engaged in fact-checking and understood the reality regarding the number of issued orders.
While confirming and emphasizing the issuance of execution orders, they corrected the false news of fifteen thousand execution orders and quickly warned political figures like the Canadian Prime Minister about it, leading his office to remove their posts on this matter from social media.
The wall of unfamiliarity and media estrangement with Iran on the international stage has collapsed. Meanwhile, even rumors and various, even contradictory, news on social media no longer have the power to mislead public opinion in Iran and abroad. The recent events in Iran, specifically the tragic death of Kian Pirfalak, showed that media deception and lies to justify events are no longer effective.
This is why, with the increasing familiarity of international experts and analysts with the realities of Iran, the speed and power of justification by the regime’s officials have diminished, and political figures from other countries are following Iran’s events more carefully.
The two social and political poles in Iran have become ineffective.
The reformist justifiers within Iran have become incapable of slowing down and wearing out the process of internal demands. One of the main reasons for this transformation is the inefficacy of the political practices of this specific faction, which has lost public attention and appeal to the true reformists who speak of truth and reality in Iranian society.
This specific justifying faction during the events of the Rouhani presidency justified multiple events, namely the protests after the currency crisis, the protests after the livelihood crisis caused by the increase in gasoline prices, and most importantly, the protests after the deliberate downing of the Ukrainian airplane. Now, after several years and precisely on the anniversary of the November protests, there is no need to explain the status of these justifying forces.
On the other hand, the wave of regime change advocates and media organized by foreign countries also do not have much ability to direct the news reporting about the realities of Iran. More than before, these media and the political and social activists associated with them, who claim to be active and leading, are following public movements.
Specifically, the leaderless nature of the recent rights demands, alongside the fact that the Iranian people are not waiting for a leader to emerge, is noteworthy. But beyond that, even defining the nature of the recent public protests has slipped out of the hands of those media and activists. There is no need for loud and fame-seeking figures to get the people’s voice out of Iran.
In America, there is no news of dictator supporters.
One of the most significant differences between the recent protests and those of 2019 and before is the political change in America from Trump’s era to Biden’s era. In Biden’s era, there is no news of hollow and ineffective sanctions aiding Iran’s regime, Trump’s submissive alignment with Putin’s policies in the Middle East, and his team’s suspicious plans during the intentional downing of the Ukrainian airplane and the assassination of General Soleimani.
The America of Biden’s era is making maximum efforts to apply targeted sanctions and punishments against suppressors without repeating the Obama-era decisions of covert and not very explicit support for public protests. There are no more empty news hullabaloos and speeches, and Robert Malley can be compared to the suspicious and ineffective figure responsible for Iran policies during Trump’s era.
Iran’s regime cannot trust China and India.
Next week, the United Nations Human Rights Council will hold its important meeting and will address Iran’s situation. Iran has remained silent regarding the behavior of the Chinese government towards its Muslims and the behavior of Modi’s government in India towards Indian Muslims. Specifically, what the Chinese Communist Party has done with the Uyghurs has been disgraceful and catastrophic, and Iran’s regime has shamefully remained silent about it.
China, with its high influence, has escaped the consequences of its behavior with the Uyghurs at the United Nations Human Rights Council. If Iran’s regime thinks that China will be its ally and supporter in international organizations in justifying and controlling the consequences of its actions, it is mistaken.
The US and its allies condemned Iran at the meeting of the committee known as the Third Committee of the United Nations and prepared for this week’s meeting. Even escaping the consequences of recent events at the upcoming meeting will not be the end. China and India will not be loyal supporters.
The violation of children’s and women’s rights will not go unanswered.
Western media and governments have accurately examined and monitored the exact number of innocent children killed in the recent protests in Iran. The wave of arrests of Iranian women, a social and public movement that began with the killing of the innocent Mahsa Amini, continues to this day. The recent public movement is centered on women’s activities. It is rare to find a man who has been more leading and forward than women in recent movements.
Even Westerners turn to Iranian women, especially those who are more public and ordinary and not affiliated with specific governments, to learn about Iran’s situation. Iran’s regime has changed the equations by violating women’s and children’s rights. The image reflected by the arrest of female artists, journalists, and social activists naturally leads to public demands in the West for action against Iran’s regime based on rights-seeking, and punishments against Iran will no longer be political but public.
In this context, the following articles have been published in Iran Gate:
- Continuation of nationwide protests in Iran, increase in arrests and intimidation
- Iran protests and exaggeration about Generation Z
- Iranian women become Time’s Person of the Year