How Are The Protests In Egypt, Tunisia's Jasmine Revolution Being Viewed In Iran?

RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty ^ | Golnaz Esfandiari

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"The Islamic world is ripe with major new developments and Khomeini's Islam is the engine of these events," Iran's hard-line daily "Kayhan" wrote in a January 27 commentary devoted to the recent wave of protests in the Arab world.

The daily, which often reflects the views of the Iranian establishment -- or more specifically, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- added that the third millennium is witnessing "the powerful [presence] of Islam under Iran's leadership."

Iranian state media has been portraying the recent upheaval in Arab countries as a struggle against Western puppets in the region, while claiming that citizens who have taken to the streets in Tunisia, Egypt, and elsewhere are taking inspiration from Iran's Islamic Revolution.

"Kayhan" suggested that participants in Tunisia's uprising, as well in as protests in Jordan, Algeria, Yemen, and Egypt are taking inspiration from Iran's 1979 revolution, which led to the fall of the shah's U.S.-backed regime and the creation of an Islamic republic.

" 'Death to the U.S. Death to Israel. Islam is my religion. We don't want American rulers. We're not afraid of martyrdom.' Are these slogans familiar to the ears and eyes of the world? Aren't these slogans the same that Iranian people [chanted] in the run-up to the Islamic Revolution?" wrote "Kayhan."

The commentary made no mention of the calls for economic reforms and political freedom being voiced in the protests. There was also no mention of comparisons that have been made between Tunisia's uprising and the mass antigovernment demonstrations that shook the Iranian establishment in 2009.

'In The Name Of Islam'

Iran's state broadcasts have followed the same line as that seen in the print media, according to journalist Roozbeh Mirebrahimi, who monitors Iranian state television.

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