Iran’s leaders facing most serious threat since 1979 revolution
Millions of people in Iran are now united around the hope of destroying the Islamic Republic and removing its leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Symbols of the state have been defaced or set on fire, and it feels now that many are no longer afraid of the regime.
What started two weeks ago were demonstrations by shopkeepers over the state of the economy – with inflation in Iran soaring and the currency collapsing, the price of rice and bread have skyrocketed.
But they aren’t the only factors fuelling this revolt.
Iranians are frustrated with the ruling class. And so the demonstrations have evolved, with people from all walks of life, all over the country, protesting.
Follow latest: Number killed in Iran protests rises
“They’re fed up because they [the regime] have failed to give them anything that you’d expect of a government,” Iranian historian Arash Azizi told me. “This is a government that represses people, doesn’t let them listen to music they don’t like.”
“A highly sophisticated, urban, modern Iranian society has to face the regime that does this daily humiliation.”
Demonstrations by shopkeepers over the state of the economy started two weeks ago
Right now, Iran is in the grips of a communications blackout – with both the internet and phone communications down – as the regime tries to shut the country off from the world.
For most Iranians, their only source now is Iranian state media, which is feeding people a narrative of a small number of anti-revolutionaries working for hostile states.
Both the internet and phone communications are down in Iran. Pic: AP
Iran’s supreme leader appeared on TV earlier today to point the finger at foreign “mercenaries” working for US President Donald Trump.
They are the desperate words of a leader – now in his 86th year – who is defiant, yes, but surely deeply nervous about his grip on power.
But the ruling class will not give up willingly. They are likely to fight to remain where they are.
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Members of the regime are calling for a decisive crackdown. Tehran’s prosecutor said those responsible would be charged with waging war against God, meaning execution.
That could mean more killings and extreme violence to come.
But the Iranian regime faces a dilemma.
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Use too much violence, and you could see President Trump follow through with his threats of hitting Iran again. Dozens of people have been killed already.
But giving in to the protesters is equally perilous. The fear factor for those on the streets seems to have disappeared.
It feels no exaggeration to say this could be the most serious threat to Iran’s leaders since the 1979 Iranian Revolution that brought down the country’s monarchy.
