Saturday, December 30, 2017

Did Trump Just Launch a Covert US-Led Color Revolution in Iran?



This looks very suspicious to me.

In recent days, large number of protesters have been taking to the streets in
the cities of Mashhad, Neyshabur, Kashmar and Birjand in northeast Iran, protesting unemployment, poverty and skyrocketing prices. Protesters were also seen chanting, "Death to Rouhani" and "Death to the Dictator."

Price inflation is soaring and youth unemployment is very high (40%) in Iran and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani submitted his 2018 budget to parliament, which raises departure taxes for those flying out of the country infuriating many.

The kindling sticks are certainly in place to get the kids out in the streets but who struck the match?

The New York Times reports (my emphasis):
Protests over the Iranian government’s handling of the economy spread to several cities on Friday, including Tehran, in what appeared to be a sign of unrest...

The Trump administration seized on reports of the protests to denounce Iran. “Iran’s leaders have turned a wealthy country with a rich history and culture into an economically depleted rogue state whose chief exports are violence, bloodshed and chaos,” the State Department spokeswoman, Heather Nauert, said in a statement. “As President Trump has said, the longest-suffering victims of Iran’s leaders are Iran’s own people.” She added that the United States “strongly condemns the arrest of peaceful protesters.”

The protests began on Thursday in Mashhad, a city of two million in the country’s northeast, where hundreds gathered to denounce recent price increases and the moribund state of the economy more generally, according to Iranian news agencies. Some of them shouted “Death to Rouhani.”...

Protests over economic conditions are not uncommon in Iran. They usually take place in front of Parliament in Tehran, and in smaller cities it is not uncommon to see protests by people who have lost their savings in bank failures, or retirees who can’t make ends meet. What seems distinctive about the protests this week is how quickly news about them spread on social media and was in turn picked up by foreign-based satellite channels...

Ali Vaez, the Iran project director for the International Crisis Group, said it was possible that hard-line opponents of Mr. Rouhani were behind the protests in Mashhad, capitalizing on anger about the economic belt-tightening and about rising food and gasoline prices.

“The trigger was apparently a protest that the government’s hard-line opponents organized in Mashhad, which got out of control and turned into an anti-regime rally and is now spreading across the country,” he said.

He noted that Saturday is the eighth anniversary of the nationwide demonstrations that helped crush the 2009 pro-democracy Green Movement.
The Iranian Green Movement‎, also known as the Persian Awakening, refers to a political movement that arose after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office. The color green was initially used as the symbol of Mir Hossein Mousavi's campaign. Right out of Gene Sharp's playbook.

The shady International Crisis Group mentioned above is also providing "field research" advice in Ukraine and Libya.

And then, we have the President chiming in:

The year 2018 is going to be very interesting.

-RW

6 comments:

  1. Any thoughts on this executive order?
    "I therefore determine that serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat."
    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive-order-blocking-property-persons-involved-serious-human-rights-abuse-corruption/

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  2. Sunni Islam (Saudi Arabia, ISIS, etc) have by far historically been the greater terror threat than Shia Islam (Iran). So why are the US and Israel ganging up on the Shia?

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  3. One hopes these are legit protests but sadly this may have CIA hands all over it or alternatively, hardliners who need something to boot Rouhani (who is considered a moderate by Iranian standards) out of power. Also you got to love that the warmongers are salivating over this, Trump has a better chance on delivering their bloodlust to them than Obomba did

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  4. The Libertarians did? FYI the LIO Friends facebook always posts a meme on countries without free speech before we see something in the Mid-East.

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  5. Stefan Molyneux appears to have gone quite Neocon regarding Iran yesterday:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbXWFKttVs8

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