Footage of Iranian’s mourning and crying in the streets gave rise to fear and accusations by media that Trump started WWIII by assassinating military leader Soleiani.
It’s a huge mistake to take the MSM at face value when they state categorically that Trump wants war with Iran when Trump pointedly said he does not. Trump withheld force against Iran despite being provoked many times in the last two years, including last year’s attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. Much to the frustration of his arch-enemies the Democrats, Trump holds the winning cards close to his chest and is playing them with great aplomb. Any advance toward war is now in Iran’s court.
Iranian Mahyar Tousi produced this video giving insight into what Iranians really think about their violent military regime, but cannot publicly express.
Olivia Pierson writing for The BFD’s Insight magazine says Iran’s constituency presents a stronger threat to deposing the current political leadership in Iran than does Donald Trump.
“The greatest threat to Iran’s medieval, theocratic regime still lies with Iranian citizens.
Regime leaders know this and it’s precisely why they brutally cracked-down on the recent protests which resulted in the deaths of over 1500 Iranian citizens and saw many more “disappeared” and imprisoned.
Their economy is in tatters, their oil is not traded on the world market, their military strength is dwindling and their regime is internally hated by their own citizens. Even their state religion of Islam is dying in the hearts and minds of Iranians. A documentary titled Sheep Among Wolves lays claim to a sweeping underground movement which is converting Iranians to Christianity in their droves.
The biggest factor in this religious transformation is the Islamic regime itself that has made citizens deeply hate Islam. The documentary claims that inside Iran the mosques are actually empty.”
Olivia Pierson
In December 2019 the BBC Monitoring website reported that the Iran protests indicate a much deeper level of discontent with the Iranian regime than just increased petrol prices following Trump’s sanctions.
“While top Iranian officials have claimed victory over the nationwide protests that gripped the country following an abrupt increase in petrol prices, its aftershocks will continue to rock Iran’s political landscape as the country prepares for the Majlis (parliamentary) elections in February 2020.
The first and immediate impact of these developments can be seen in public opinion. As highlighted by several analysts inside the country, the protests mainly involved the poor – the same class that the founding fathers of the Islamic Republic described as the establishment’s main constituency.
A number of analysts have emphasised that the recent unrest reflects discontent over more than just petrol and that similar protests could erupt in future since the root cause of the crisis has not been fixed. They also warn that if the current general dissatisfaction continues, there will be a low turnout in the next election. If this happens, it may pose a major challenge for the ruling establishment, which regards people’s participation as a barometer for its popularity.”
BBC
This puts President Hassan Rouhani in a tough position for the Iranian elections next month.
“A wide range of issues including government “mismanagement” and deepening economic problems caused some reformists to distance themselves from Rouhani.
There is also a common belief among reformists that they have lost their ability to shape public opinion ahead of major elections. This could be seen during the December 2017-January 2018 protests, where some demonstrators chanted slogans expressing their exasperation with the country’s political system in general, across the political spectrum.”
The fall away from supporting Iran’s military regime has been happening for years, it is not new.
“Iran now faces a quandary. They long for a return to the American leadership of something which is closer to the Obama/Kerry style of appeasement, which afforded Iran billions of dollars that they used to foment terrorism and proxy wars. Iranian citizens didn’t see a dime of this money used to improve their daily lives, but instead felt the brunt of harsh sanctions implemented by the U.S as soon as President Trump was elected.
To save face, Iran needs to retaliate over the death of their top general – but if they hit any U.S citizens, diplomats or military personnel they know they will face an even harder hit back by the U.S.”
Olivia Pierson
None of this is news to the cool, calm, collected and calculating Donald Trump, but it is indeed news to the MSM. How the Iranians play out their hand of very poor cards is more gripping than the best reality television – it’s just a pity we struggle to find the real story in the NZ MSM.
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