By Soona Samsami
The astonished uprising in Iran which started by expressing grievance over economic condition and quickly altered to political demands has brought up some questions. Who was behind the event? How did it spread so fast to more than 100 cities and towns? Was it really spontaneous or planned? Is it quelled or will be erupted again? And….
Ms. Soona Samsami, the National Council of Resistance of Iran’s (NCRI) representative in the United States, clarifies the different aspects of the Iranian people uprising in a well-documented op-ed in Daily Caller.
As 2018 dawned in Iran, a surge of urban uprisings engulfed more than 140 cities and towns. Protesters angrily chanted “Leave Syria alone, think about us” and “Death to Hezbollah” — slogans aimed at not only the regime’s President Hassan Rouhani but at the entire establishment. Reports from inside Iran indicate more than 8,000 arrests so far; more than 50 have been killed, as many as 5 under torture. Security thugs have begun knocking down doors at night, to arrest “likely protesters” “as a precautionary measure.”
The intensity, extent and speed of the outbreak shocked the regime, as well as much of the world, contradicting the conventional wisdom promoted by the regime itself and Iran apologists in the West. Unrest erupted in cities and towns long described as bastions of support for the ruling mullahs. Protests were not spearheaded by the Tehran elite, but by taxi drivers, teachers, workers, and nurses. The economic grievances that initially propelled ordinary Iranians into the streets overnight transformed into demands for profound change, specifically an end to clerical rule. And in far-flung towns and small cities, they echoed their demands with one voice.
