In October 2019, Lebanese youth chanted “From Beirut to Tehran, one revolution never dies” in reference to “solidarity among members of one generation connected across borders,” according to the magazine. The Atlantic.
A report by writer Tim Ghattas, published by the magazine, notes that Lebanese protesters chanted “ once morest an Islamic republic that oppresses its people at home and exercises power outside its borders,” and a foreign government that supports dysfunctional political systems in other countries so that it can manipulate them to its advantage and deploy proxy militias that practice violence from Baghdad to Beirut.
Meanwhile in October, Iranians, angry at rising fuel prices, were chanting “Death to the dictator” and setting fire to dozens of government sites, while Iraqis chanted “Iran out, out.”
Ghattas says this outburst of anger, both locally and regionally, has been one of the most complex challenges Iran has had to contend with since 1979. While the brutal and deadly crackdown has wiped out some protesters. 2020, the Corona epidemic sent the rest home.
In Tehran and other Iranian cities, protesters are back on the streets today, and as in 2019, there are expressions of solidarity across the Middle East, with many, particularly impressed by the bravery of Iranian women, encouraging the protesters.
Regional solidarity relates to every country whose people believe that Iran plays a negative role in their countries. In Syria, for example, the Syrian opposition activist in exile, Yassin al-Haj Saleh, wrote recently, saying that “the fall of the mullahs’ regime [سيكون] Best News”, and that support [الانتفاضة الإيرانية] It is a must.”
Since 2013, Iran has been deeply involved in Syria, both militarily and financially. It supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who quickly focused his efforts on crushing a civilian uprising once morest his rule, turning the country into an all-out war zone.
However, it seems that something is starting to recede, as if the project of the Islamic Republic is losing momentum, and the black wave unleashed by the 1979 revolution is receding, exhausted by repeated protests.
October
The protests began in 2019 in Iraq, then spread to Lebanon and then Iran.
And in each country, there were specific grievances driven by local dynamics, as Lebanon’s corrupt economic class emptied state coffers, according to the magazine, a corrupt economic class rules an oppressive religious regime in Iran and in Iraq, the Shiite majority protesting once morest a barely functioning corrupt state remains besieged by the Before the pro-Iranian militias, unable to build themselves following nearly two decades of American intervention.
And in both Iraq and Lebanon, there was also a specific rejection of sectarianism, a favorite tool of Iran (and until recently Saudi Arabia) to mobilize the masses, according to the author.
Protests were brutally suppressed in Iraq and Iran, and violence was also used in Lebanon.
And while the protests were renewed in Iran, and the Shiite cleric, Muqtada al-Sadr, is leading protests in Iraq, there is also an opportunity for them to renew in Lebanon with the deterioration of the situation there, according to the writer.
And the report says that “all this is unfolding while opponents of the Islamic Republic, inside and outside, know very well that many of the major developments over the past two years will impede Iran’s ability to confront in the coming period. Topping the list is the killing of Soleimani in an American strike ordered by former US President Donald.” Trump, in January 2020.
The strike made Iran the mastermind of its regional influence, while his replacement, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, lacks the “charisma, personal relationships or cunning” that Soleimani had.
Meanwhile, the most pressing issue on the mind of Iran’s ailing Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, 83, is ensuring a smooth succession, the survival not only of the Islamic Republic, but also of its hard-line wing, representing the regional shifts that have seen the Gulf states formally sign Over peace treaties or informally increasing its security cooperation with Israel is another strategic headache for Iran.
Finally, with Trump gone, the Biden administration’s efforts to engage Iran in nuclear negotiations have once once more left Iran facing a united Western camp, which blames Tehran for the lack of progress in the talks.
