Amid the ongoing Iran protests, evidence is trickling out that Iranians are rejecting the regime’s tired tactic of scapegoating America and Israel.
On Wednesday, an Iranian activist posted to Twitter another photo of his countrymen refusing to disrespect the US and Israeli flags.
The picture comes from Ahvaz, where a local mosque placed US and Israeli flags on the ground next to the entrance so that Muslim worshippers could put their shoes on the symbols of the “Great and Little satans.”
Instead, all but one person (bet it was the imam) respectfully placed their shoes around the two flags.
#Iranians refuse to put their shoes on the American & Israeli flags in opposition to the regime. A mosque in Ahvaz, #Iran. pic.twitter.com/lDxJjPPKxp
— Alireza Nader (@AlirezaNader) January 15, 2020
Israel Foreign Minister Israel Katz responded immediately in Persian:
“An image of optimism. The Iranian people reject hatred and refuse to step on the Israeli and American flags placed by the Ayatollahs at the entrance to the mosque. This is a promising move towards a better future.”
تصویری از خوشبینی. مردم ایران نفرتپراکنی را رد کرده و حاضر نیستند روی پرچم اسرائیل و آمریکا که توسط رژیم آیتاللهها در ورودی مسجد گذاشته شده، پا بگذارند. این اقدامی امیددهنده برای آیندهای بهتر است. pic.twitter.com/l8fp9hcvr7
— ישראל כ”ץ Israel Katz (@Israel_katz) January 16, 2020
Iran protests ignored
Did you know that over 1,500 people have been killed and nearly 5,000 injured so far in the ongoing anti-regime demonstrations in Iran?
If you didn’t, you’re not alone.
Mainstream international media coverage has been woefully inadequate. Like most other Middle East dictatorships, the Iranian regime knows how to play the world press.
The same is often seen in the Palestinian Authority-controlled territories and Hamas-ruled Gaza. In order to promote their own agenda, these despots make it clear to the foreign press that they are only welcome so long as the reports being broadcast abroad toe the party line.
So, it’s little wonder that the scale of the protests and the casualty figures aren’t getting more airtime. After all, CNN and the like don’t want to risk their ability to report from Iran, even if it means misrepresenting or omitting the reality in order to protect their own “relevance.”
A belatedly-honest reporter
It’s not only the foreign press that the ayatollahs are strong-arming.
Naturally, local Iranian media is unable to freely report the truth, and must air whatever the regime demands. But for some, being party to what’s happening is no longer an option.
One Iranian television anchor resigned this week, but not before publicly apologizing to her audience:
“It was very hard for me to believe the killing of my countrymen. I apologize for lying to you on TV for 13 years.”
Iran State TV’s anchor resigns saying, “It was very hard for me to believe the killing of my countrymen. I apologize for lying to you on TV for 13 years.”#IranProtests2020 https://t.co/XnTv72KDkZ
— Farnaz Fassihi (@farnazfassihi) January 13, 2020
Khamenei’s days are numbered
While the world might not be paying as much attention as it should, Iran’s exiled crown prince is confident that the present Iran protests will lead to the downfall of the Islamic Republic.
“This is weeks or months preceding the ultimate collapse, not dissimilar to the last three months in 1978 before the revolution,” Reza Pahlavi told a press conference in Washington, DC. He was referring to the Islamic revolution that overthrew his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.
While Iran has known several anti-regime movements over the years, Pahlavi said that this time the people can “smell the opportunity for the first time in 40 years. …It’s just a matter of time for it to reach its final climax.”
