Biden Administration Voices Cautious Support For Iran Protesters

Iranians are blaming the death toll of almost 30 people on the ruling regime’s corruption and mismanagement, the permanent features of the Islamic Republic’s governance model.

But you wouldn’t know about the protests from the news. Coverage of Iran in the West has been dominated by nuclear negotiations, but there’s always been another story—about the Iranian people’s yearning for freedom.

Iranian People v. Iranian Regime

Over the 43 years of its existence, the Iranian regime’s ineptitude has affected every Iranian. Failure to pay salaries has spawned protests by truckers, teachers, oil industry workers, and many other laborers. Students have held rallies to reject “Stone Age” restrictions at universities. Construction of hundreds of dams and water rerouting schemes have dried out many water sources, depriving Iranian farmers of a living and driving them to the streets in thirst and desperation.

Each flare up of popular unrest has been distinctly characterized by anti-regime sentiments. Chants of “Death to the dictator,” “Shame on Khamenei, let go of the country,” “Mullahs get lost,” and “Our enemy is here; they lie that it is America!” have routinely conveyed the people’s anger at the revolutionary government’s broken promises. And each prominent protest has been brutally crushed.

In 1988, the regime massacred more than 5,000 dissidents. In 1999, Iran’s version of “Tiananmen Square” ended with seven dead, 200 wounded, and 1,400 detained. 2009 brought the “Green Movement,” which resulted in more than 100 deaths. Then, in a span of a few days in November 2019, 1,500 Iranians were mowed down by the regime’s security forces. The victims included at least 17 teenagers and about 400 women.

Now, thousands of Iranians are back on the streets, risking their lives. But do protests really happen if no one hears about them?

Media Blackout of Iranian Protests

The Islamic Republic of Iran is perennially designated as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers. Yet, deadly protests in Iran rarely get reported in the Western media.

You’ve probably heard of the Russian lawyer Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned and imprisoned by Putin, but have you heard of Nasrin Sotoudeh, an Iranian lawyer who was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes for defending women who object to the Islamic Republic’s compulsory hijab laws?

The murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi was front-page news for months. Not the kidnapping and murder of Iranian journalist Ruhollah Zam. Nor the torture and execution of wrestler Navid Afkari. Nor the arrest and death of environmentalist Kavous Seyed Emami.

A prominent Iranian blogger and Internet freedom activist Hossein Ronaghi became so fed up with this phenomenon he risked his freedom to condemn the Western media for “failing the Iranian people.” Ronaghi wrote: “In Iran, we protest as loudly as possible and post videos online, but the reality is not reflected in most Western media reports.”

Why are Oppressed Iranians Invisible in the West?

One explanation may be the Islamic Republic’s repressive environment for journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls Iran one of the world’s ten worst countries for press freedom. It’s nearly impossible to report critically about the government of Iran from Iran. This is a double-edged sword that compromises the truth. It not only leads to more favorable coverage of the theocratic regime, but also more critical coverage of Western governments that respect press freedom.

Another possible reason is the Western media’s “JCPOA bias.” In the lead up to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (aka the Iran nuclear deal), many purportedly objective publications cheered the Obama Administration’s marquee foreign policy initiative. Then Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes even bragged about the media “echo chamber.” That Faustian bargain came at the expense of the “Green Movement,” which President Obama sacrificed at the altar of the Iran deal.

Today, history is repeating itself. As President Joe Biden is negotiating the latest version of the JCPOA, many in the media who supported the original deal want him to succeed, and are reluctant to draw attention to anything, like the protests, that may sabotage those efforts.

Hossein Ronaghi, the Iranian blogger, was arrested following the publication of his first article. After a stint in prison, he doubled down with a plea to the West: “This is our message from inside Iran: Don’t enrich our torturers, don’t capitulate to our captors. You would be sacrificing your own national security and selling out the Iranian people at the same time. And when the regime shuts down the internet during our protests and tries to murder us under the cover of darkness, don’t stay silent.”

Len Khodorkovsky is a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Senior Advisor to the U.S. Representative for Iran.

Opinions expressed by the author are not necessarily the views of Iran International

Reformist activist Davoud Soleimani wrote in a commentary in Etemad newspaper that "the collapse of the Metropol Tower is a miniature symbol of the dynamics prevailing in Iran's government." This is an utterly polite way of saying that the way local and national governments as well as security forces are handling the people's reactions following the catastrophe is shambolic.

Soleimani warned the government that "some of the country's problems cannot be solved simply through the use of force."

He attributed some of the shortcomings in Abadan, where the incident happened, to the government's faulty structures, which in turn gave way to the corruption that led to sloppy construction methods, ultimately killing more than 30 people.

However, Soleimani pointed out that Iran has fairly good laws about regulating construction work and safety, but influential individuals at the municipality and elsewhere in the country's management can always circumvent the laws.

He added that the government should remember the lessons learned from the incident and prevent disregard of safety regulations by influential individuals. Soleimani further pointed out that it is bad when a reporter who had warned about the possibility of a collapse was threatened and silenced by the authorities.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Davoud Yousefian Molla told Etemad Online in Tehran about the ambiguities surrounding the event. "It is still not known why the search and rescue mission is taking so long. Also, we still do not know who is responsible for compensating the losses sustained," he said, adding that because of widespread distrust, many still do not believe the owner of the building was killed under the debris as the government says.

"The government is working hard to secure the people's trust, but the situation is not good, and the chaotic performance of the authorities leave little room for trust," said Yousefian.He added: "The Interior Minister, the Red Crescent Society and the local governor are at the site of the collapse, but their presence makes no difference as there is no proper search, rescue and relief plan in place."

Yousefian further said, "The fact that we still do not know the identity of those buried under the debris and do not know who is responsible for what happened and who is in charge of search and rescue operations adds to the sense of distrust among the people." He added that this distrust has accumulated over time and is not solely related to this particular event."

Yousefian charged that Iranian officials have been lying to the people since former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency. "People used to call former President Hassan Rouhani a liar even before he began to speak. The reason for this is the lack of trust among the people," he said.

In another article in the reformist Shargh newspaper, Iranian commentator Amir Nazemi wrote that "protesters in Abadan know that the dead cannot be brought back to life. What they protest against are corruption, lawbreaking and ignoring the value of life." He added that no concession can calm down the protests but what can relieve the situation is creating an atmosphere for reviewing and correcting the process of decision-making in Iran."

Nazemi called for the government's confrontation with corruption, empowering supervisory bodies and facilitating "e-petitions" and whistleblowing and making sure that those who sign petitions and blow whistles live without fear of judiciary’s reprisal.

Videos and reports published on social media show tens of security forces on each street, preventing movement of people in Abadan, and the government resorting to tear gas for dispersing crowds before gatherings could get larger. In some videos firing of military weapons are also heard but news coming out of Abadan is sketchy.

Disruption of internet access by the government in the restive Khuzestan province where Abadan is located has drastically reduced the flow of information about ongoing events. Cutting access to the Internet is a routine practice during protests to prevent information from spreading to other parts of the country and videos of government violence being shred.

Reports by activists on Monday spoke of many arrests in Abadan and other cities in Khuzestan. Some of these arrests target whole families if one member is seen in the protests.

But protests took place in Bushehr port city on the Persian Gulf and in the capital Tehran and some suburbs, despite a heavy presence of security forces, who appear both as special anti-riot troops and plainclothesmen who mingle near the protesters. Pockets of protesters defied security forces and chanted “Death to the dictator” and other slogans against the ruler of the Islamic Republic Ali Khamenei. They also chanted, “It is a lie America is our enemy, Our enemy is right here.”

Protests began a week ago in the south-western, oil-rich province after a 10-story building collapsed killing and trapping dozens of people. So far, authorities say they have pulled out 34 bodies and an equal number is estimated to be missing.

They also claimed that the owner was among the dead, which many people did not believe, as it quickly became clear that he was well-connected with powerful officials and some witnesses claimed they had seen him leaving the building before it collapsed. Authorities who had said immediately after the incident that the owner, Hossein Abdolbaghi was arrested, changed the story the next day and presented a badly damaged corpse as evidence of his death. Rumors began circulating that he fled to Turkey.

Evidence of systematic corruption at all levels of government has been piling up for years, which coupled with deteriorating economic conditions drive many people to question the legitimacy of the government.

The central government in Tehran was also slow to sympathize with the people of Abadan and send rescue reinforcements but was able to dispatch more security forces anticipating protests. Khamenei failed to mention the incident for three days and then issue a message of condolences to Abadan.

But the incident came after protests in mid-May against rising prices had already rocked the province and a tense situation prevailed in western and south-western Iran.

Activists and observers have been wondering if Tehran and other large cities would join the protests. First signs of defiance emerged Monday after thousands of people who gathered in Tehran’s Azadi stadium for a match chanted slogans in support of protests in Abadan and repeating the same popular chants of ‘death to the dictator’ and ‘America is not our enemy’. Later in the night videos showed sporadic demonstrations in the capital’s suburbs.

The Monday match between Esteghlal and Naft Masjed Soleyman FC ended in a goalless draw, but it was more than enough for Tehran’s Blues to clinch the championship of the current season of Iran’s Premier League.

During the match as well as during the celebrations after the match, spectators were heard chanting slogans in solidarity with the people of Abadan, who have been holding protests since last Monday following the collapse of a 10-story building that left 33 people dead and about 30 missing. It quickly became apparent that the owner and builder was a well-connected businessman who had disregarded regulations and building codes, being backed by officials, who might have had their own financial interests.

Videos surfaced on social media on Monday showing a large group of people from Khorramshahr, another city in Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province, marching towards Abadan to support the popular protests there.

In previous days, there were protests in several cities in Khuzestan, such as Andimeshk and Masjed Soleiman, where people gathered to voice their support for protesters in Abadan, where grief for the victims and anti-government outrage have fused into a potent anger.

Amid the tense situation in the city Sunday night, Arab tribal groups began streaming into Abadan and warned the security forces that if they shot the people, tribes would resort to weapons to defend them.

In a statement released on Monday, the Workers Syndicate of Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company said the voice of the people who are suffering from corruption in the government cannot be silenced by deception and crackdown.

They said the culprits of the disaster are the authorities who turned a blind eye to corruption and permitted the construction of the building by unreliable people who took advantage of nepotism and connections with government officials.

The statement goes on to say that authprities with all their means and tools of repression are trying to silence the voices of the families of the victims and the and the demands of the people in Abadan and other cities in Khuzestan and elsewhere in the country, and “as usual, they respond to any protest with bullets, batons and tear gas.”

Anti-government protests have been taking place since last week in several cities across Iran’s oil-rich Khuzestan province as well as in other cities in support of the people of Abadan with security forces firing tear gas and shots to disperse the crowds.

Protests began last week, when on Monday a 10-story building collapsed in Abadan, leaving 32 people dead and an equal number missing. The people of Shahinshahr in the central Esfahan province and Bandar Abbas in the southern province of Hormozgan also held protest rallies to show their solidarity with the people of Abadan, whose mourning ceremonies for the victims of the Metropol twin towers have turned into anti-government protests since Wednesday.

It quickly became apparent that the owner and builder was a powerful and well-connected businessman who had disregarded regulations and building codes, backed by officials, who might have had their own financial interests.

The Iranian Writers Association also issued a statement saying the state media tried to hide facts and information about the tragedy by describing the building as not complete and publishing false figures on injured and missing persons.

They condemned the government’s “clumsy show aimed at covering up corruption institutionalized in state agencies and institutions,” saying the authorities’ first reaction to the tragedy was not sending relief crews, but dispatching anti-riot forces, cutting off Internet access, and misinformation.

The association also said the ongoing clampdown on the protesters is reminiscent of the November 2019 protests, the bloodiest in Iran’s history with security forces opening fire on demonstrators in many cities, killing hundreds. Thousand were arrested and jailed without due process of law and there were numerous reports of torture in prison.

In another statement published on Sunday, headlined, "Put Down Your Gun,” a group of filmmakers and actors called on security forces responsible for suppressing the popular protests to lay down their weapons.

Now, that public outrage over corruption, theft, inefficiency, repression and suffocation has created a wave of popular protests, "we call on all those who have become agents of repression in the military units to lay down their weapons and return to the embrace of the nation."