In comparison to the mass protests that arose in 2009 after the fraudulent presidential election, these protests are different in several important  respects:  1. They directly oppose poverty and  systemic corruption.  2.  They include the wide participation of the working class  (men and women), many unemployed. .  3.  Demands include an end to the Islamic Republic,  Death to Supreme Leader Khamenei, Death to president Rouhani,  Death to the “Revolutionary Guards” and an end to Iran’s military intervention in Syria and Lebanon.   4. In some cases,  individual women have bravely taken off their headscarves or veils  in public places and have encouraged others to follow them.

Frieda Afary

December 31, 2017

The protests that started in the city of Mashhad on Thursday  December 28  have quickly spread to more than 40 cities including Tehran,  Kermanshah, Rasht,  Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamedan, Kerman,  Zanjan,  Ahvaz, Bandar Abbas,  and even the  city of Qum, Iran’s religious capital.    The participants are mostly young people under 30 but in some cases have included parents with their children.   So far, at least 5 people have been killed in Lorestan and over 50 people have been arrested by heavily present security forces.  Some government buildings and banks were set on fire by the protesters and pictures of Khamenei and Khomeini have been burned.

In comparison to the mass protests that arose in 2009 after the fraudulent presidential election, these protests are different in several important  respects:  1. They directly oppose poverty and  systemic corruption.  2.  They include the wide participation of the working class  (men and women), many unemployed. .  3.  Demands include an end to the Islamic Republic,  Death to Supreme Leader Khamenei, Death to president Rouhani,  Death to the “Revolutionary Guards” and an end to Iran’s military intervention in Syria and Lebanon.   4. In some cases,  individual women have bravely taken off their headscarves or veils  in public places and have encouraged others to follow them.

No one can deny that these protests are arising after at least a year of almost daily labor actions and strikes against non-payment of wages and terrible working conditions, as well as protests by impoverished retirees, teachers, nurses and those who have lost their meager savings in bankrupt banks.    Slogans have also called for freedom for all political pr