At the weekend, a spokesman for Iran’s judiciary said that the country’s security forces will confront the public unrest that has been simmering for several months.
In recent weeks there have been ongoing protests with regards to labour rights and laws. Truck drivers and teachers are among those that have taken to the streets. These protests have undoubtedly been sparked by the uncertainty of the future with regards to the US economic sanctions that are likely to be brought back into force.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that at least two individuals had been killed following a fire in a police station.
At the end of last year, a large number of people in Iran took to the streets to protest the poor economic situation that had been provoked by the regime’s mismanagement of resources and the corruption that is found at all levels within the leadership. Anti-government demonstrations ensued and it became clear how widespread the social discontent is.
The Iranian authorities attempted to supress the people and resorted to physical violence, mass arrests and firing at unarmed protesters. Several people lost their lives during the protests or in the aftermath.
The Iranian regime is very conscious that a similar uprising is brewing on the horizon and it is clearly keen to delay the inevitable. It is therefore now announcing that the authorities will crack down hard on individuals or groups that “want to compromise the country’s security”.
Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, a judicial official for the regime, said: “I urge families not to let their children be fooled by psychological warfare … launched by the enemy, especially Zionists and Americans, and not let counter-revolutionaries infiltrate crowds of protesters with legitimate demands. These days, Americans and Zionists have become so desperate that they are reaching out to the most despicable individuals and terrorists.”
It is obvious that the regime is clutching at straws in an attempt to dissipate the dissent, but it is underestimating the determination of the people who are willing to risk arrest, imprisonment, torture and even their lives to hold the regime accountable for its actions and to ultimately experience freedom and democracy in their country.
It is unfortunate for the people of Iran, and indeed the wider international community, that foreign governments are hesitant to call the regime out and take action with regards to its abuse of human rights. It is especially sickening that some Western governments, especially in the European Union, are willing to put aside their own human rights values in order to do business with the cruel and torturous regime.
Although US President Donald Trump has announced his decision to pull the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal, it is sad to see the European leaders do all they can to keep the ineffective agreement in place.
The Iranian regime has been abusing human rights for decades and political prisoners are especially targeted. The people are denied the right to voice their legitimate concerns about the leadership of their country.
Source » ncr-iran