All you need to know about the Iran protests in 20 points http://ara.tv/r2ckj via @AlArabiya_Eng
1 On Tuesday, December 19, the Iranian government announced a new austerity plan.
2 The plan imposed a 50% increase in the price of fuel.
3 The government decided to cancel the monetary support of more than 34 million people.
4 Economists close to President Hassan Rouhani warned that the plan would lead to a societal explosion.
5 Hassan Rouhani snubbed the advice and decided to proceed with the austerity plan.
Demonstrations began with economic demands, but quickly turned political.
6 In this same austerity plan, the government decided to increase the budget for military armament.
7 Most of the military armament budget goes to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
8 The IRGC operates on foreign lands, supporting the Houthi militia in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Popular Mobilization Unit in Iraq and supporting the Assad regime in Syria.
9 The number of poverty-stricken individuals under the lifting of subsidies rose from 20 million to 54 million.
10 On Wednesday, December 27, citizens went out on a limited demonstration to demand that the government backtrack on the austerity plans.
11 The demonstration was held in the city of Mashhad, the capital of Khorasan Rizvi province, and security forces treated the protesters with excessive violence.
12 On Thursday morning, thousands of citizens decided to go out in mass demonstrations against the regime in support of the protesters.
13 Demonstrations began with economic demands such as the restoration of monetary support and the lifting of fuel subsidies.
14 University students and other middle classes joined the demonstrations.
15 Their demands have evolved into political anger related to Iran’s foreign policy.
16 Demonstrators called on the regime to stop supporting terrorist groups abroad and said clearly in the slogans they chanted “Neither Gaza nor Lebanon … my soul is searching for the redemption of Iran.”
17 The massive demonstrations from Khorasan province extended to other provinces including Hamdan, Kermanshah and Tehran.
18 Security forces violently treated demonstrators and tried to disperse them with tear gas and arrested hundreds of them.
19 The clerics in Mashhad specifically called for the suppression of demonstrations by all means.
20 The geographical scope of the demonstrations is expected to expand to include provinces such as Sistan, Baluchistan and Persia, with its capital, Shiraz and Isfahan, which also witnessed massive demonstrations at the weekend.
Last Update: Saturday, 30 December 2017 KSA 12:44 – GMT 09:44
That is really very interesting information.
I find it particularly fascinating that the Iranians are in apparently such deep monetary / economic trouble even with the lifting of sanctions. One suspects that if Obama and Kerry had not been so eager to hand ‘em the farm...
Thank you for a detailed, useful summary of recent events.
Some time ago, I researched a bit about Iranian power centers during another lively FR post. At that time there appeared to be four major ones, although there are plenty of others allied with one or another of those. At the top is Ayatolla Khamenei (age 78) and the Mullahs. At that time he was reported to have a “palace guard” of perhaps 10,000 people, with an elite of several hundred each given their own personal housing (buys good loyalty). Second was the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and their malitia allies like the Basij (I think “nutjob” was from them). They also lost huge numbers in Sadam Husseins war, and have many fingers in many lucrative economic/business pies. Sanctions may be hitting them hard. The regular military (and perhaps the police) are a separate entity and this may explain why aircraft appear to be leaving, passing by Tehran and why demonstrators are asking the police for help. The fourth group is the more moderate factions including old line moderates like President Rouhani, who was elected appealing to the voters, mostly much younger, who do want change and often feel positive toward the US. In 2009 I don’t think the demonstrators were strong enough to win, now may be different. The thought that the 2009 struggle began in the cities, whereas this has begun in the country can be a serious difference. Fuel price increases hit the countryside hard, since travel to urban centers costs more, and fuel costs for mechanized agriculture could be an important factor. Lifting the subsidies and increasing the poor by 60+% must be a bummer. Below is a link posted just before the election that Rouhani won which shows some of these different influences and tendencies.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/interactive/2017/05/iran-election-explainer-170503114917157.html