Protests Ensue In Iran, Sweeping The Geographic And Ideological Landscape
IMPORTANT: One must be dully cautious when consuming information about foreign affairs from American outlets, as the US has a powerful propaganda machine, and much of what we read has been filtered through a certain lens in favor of "American interests". I have done my absolute best here to sift through smokescreen, and present the Iranian situation with clarity, albeit, exercise caution, and form your opinions wisely when reading this, or any, outlet offering up opinions on foreign middle eastern affairs.
The protests initially took place in Mashhad, Iran's second major city, in response to the loss of the assets of thousands of depositors of the Iranian credit unit "Caspian". The protests quickly snowballed into a cacophony of ideological concerns and economic demands. The spectrum of issues leading up to this was addressed by Juan Cole in a "TruthDig" article which attempted to parse the difference between the tumultuous political landscape, and the economic concerns of the demonstrators. Cole noted that the Petro-government controls 80% of the Iranian economy, and while the economy there is set to grow by 4% this year, inflation is at 9%, where he noted that "the clerical ruling class will be held harmless from that decline in real purchasing power." The protests quickly spread to Iran's capital city of Tehran, and after 3 days of protests, "The Independent" reports, 450 demonstrators had been arrested, some of which may face the death penalty. The death toll arising from the various demonstrations has risen to 21, according to Aljazeera's reporting.
As protests began to embody various political issues, demonstrations grew larger, and before long, counter-protesters began organizing in favor of the Iranian regime, and in opposition to the aforementioned demonstrations. Various media outlets in the US have taken different sides in this dispute, with one New York Times article beginning by noting that the initial protests were "unauthorized". In forming an opinion on foreign affairs, it should be noted that the CIA has been known to infiltrate media outlets in an effort to sway public opinion. That being said, the Washington Post, whose owner has a $600,000,000 "arrangement" with the FBI, was out in full force, publishing one article referring to the initial anti-government rallies as "open rebellion", and painted a picture of violence and upheaval as the embodiment of the demonstrations. The same article made a point to note that the Iranian economy is growing, while failing to note that the rate of inflation is twice that of its growth. Whatever your opinion, it should at least be noted that the propaganda machine wants you to be against the Iranian protesters.
Censorship Of The Iranian Internet
The government of Iran has moved to "shut down the internet", according to one article written by "The Hill", or at least certain social media applications, as reported by The New York Times. In response to government censorship, Iranians have reportedly increased usage of the Tor Browser.
