{"id":1469,"date":"2020-01-16T04:02:29","date_gmt":"2020-01-16T04:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1469"},"modified":"2020-01-16T04:02:29","modified_gmt":"2020-01-16T04:02:29","slug":"yes-iranians-can-protest-against-both-us-intervention-and-their-government-reza-h-akbari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/codir.net\/?p=1469","title":{"rendered":"Yes, Iranians can protest against both US intervention and their government – Reza H Akbari"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anti-regime unrest doesn\u2019t mean everyone has suddenly switched sides. US officials\u2019 simplistic view of Iran is dangerous<\/p>\n

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Some argue that today\u2019s protests are the \u201creal Iran\u201d and represent the authentic face of the country.\u2019 Photograph: Anadolu Agency\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/header>\n
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P<\/span><\/span>rotests\u00a0erupted in Iran<\/a>\u00a0soon after the government admitted to having accidentally shot down a passenger plane killing 176 people. That disaster took place amid escalating tensions with the US over the killing of Qassem Suleimani, head of the country\u2019s powerful Quds force. The crowds have called on their supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to step down, and security forces have responded with teargas, rubber bullets and even\u00a0live ammunition<\/a>. In one of the most visceral displays of anger so far, a young man climbed up a billboard depicting Suleimani. After making it to the top, he kicked the picture and eventually dragged it down.<\/p>\n

The apparent shift in the public\u2019s attitude towards its government has puzzled some observers. Just a week ago, Iranians appeared to be united in mourning the loss of a revered general but today they are taking to the streets against the ruling elite. In an attempt to explain the apparent contradiction, some have claimed that the mourning was inauthentic, regime propaganda that has been unquestioningly swallowed by western media. In contrast, others argue that today\u2019s protests are the \u201creal Iran\u201d, and represent the authentic face of the country. According to Donald Trump, the Iranians who refused to step on an American flag painted at the entrance to a building were \u201cwonderful\u201d and their behaviour a sign of \u201cbig progress\u201d. So which is it? Is\u00a0Iran<\/a>\u00a0a nation of people easily coerced into participating in pro-regime rallies or a country of brave souls willing to risk their lives for justice?<\/p>\n

Of course, the binary view of Iran that underlies this bewilderment is misguided and reductive. The complex attitudes of protesters are surprising only to those who see the country as a monolith. They have accepted the superficial caricature of a nation in which there can only be one national mood \u2013 a fickle place where shouts of \u201cDeath to America\u201d are replaced with the anti-regime cry of \u201cDeath to the Dictator\u201d overnight. Today, Iran is a terrorist nation where the people mourn the death of a brutal regime general, and tomorrow they become stalwarts of democracy, putting their lives on the line to oppose their authoritarian regime. These one-dimensional interpretations are often the result of cherry-picking events in order to match whatever preconceived notions are held about the \u201ctrue\u201d nature of the country. But that is no substitute for real understanding.<\/p>\n

Although it might seem obvious, it\u2019s worth restating that Iran is a diverse nation of more than 80 million people. It has an intricate bureaucracy and various centres of political power. The state and social forces seldom act in concert on any issue. People have strong political opinions and a range of socioeconomic backgrounds. No, not all of Iran was united in its grief for Suleimani, but not all of Iran is trying to topple the regime either. The authorities have a history of holding state-sponsored rallies and boosting numbers at them by incentivising attendance, but to claim everyone who came out to mourn Suleimani was forced to do so is implausible. Individuals who are protesting against the government are risking much more than those who attended state-sponsored memorials. But why are we assuming that there is no overlap? There are reports of people who attended both. This is because the demands of members of the public are many and varied. Iranians are more than capable of condemning foreign threats against their sovereignty as well as the regime\u2019s domestic repression.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, superficial readings of Iran, which prevent a realistic assessment of what\u2019s going on, are fully embraced by\u00a0members of the current US administration<\/a>, convinced that their so-called maximum-pressure policy is working. They continue to claim that the 2015 nuclear deal, rather than being a considerable diplomatic achievement, started the cycle of escalation between the two countries. In a nationally televised address from the White House on 8 January, President Trump blamed the former president, Barack Obama, for Iran\u2019s missile attack against US bases, stating, \u201cThe missiles fired … at us and our allies were paid for with the funds made available by the last administration.\u201d<\/p>\n