>>>”When the population of Iran rose up in widespread demonstrations after the mullahs stole the 2009 elections in Iran (The Green Revolution), French security launched coordinated raids on the offices of Iranian opposition groups in France, and seized their computers.”<<<
I missed this bit from your comment. Yes, the French did that because the “Iranian Opposition” to which you refer were most probably the MeK. An Islamist Marxist grp which were on the banned terrorist list of both the U.S. and EU. Their leader Maryam Rajavi is based in France.
When the population of Iran rose up in widespread demonstrations after the mullahs stole the 2009 elections in Iran (The Green Revolution), French security launched coordinated raids on the offices of Iranian opposition groups in France, and seized their computers.
This is what really motivated my rant about French influence. It seemed to me that this was a sudden turning point in the uprising, where the Guards suddenly had extensive by name rosters, and began arresting ringleaders by the hundreds per day - many were killed. Could just be coincidence, but it looked like a sellout to me. It seemed to me that Obama deliberately withheld support, but that the French Gov actively knifed them.
Really, I blame the left, rather than a country, for influence on what Iranians did in Iran. As you pointed out, lots of Iranians were US and UK educated. Khamenei attended university in the USSR.