I’ve learned so much about #Iran’s geography from the last 5 years of anti-regime popular protests. Even now during the most recent protests I learn about towns I never heard of before. And I disagree that only protests in large cities such as the capital Tehran matter.
#Iran is a large country of 85 million people and constant protests are bound to exhaust & demoralize the security forces if they spread far & wide. And in some smaller towns we’ve seen the Basij headquarters fall to the protesters.
At the same time, it’s hard to see how scattered & spontaneous protests & strikes can succeed if there aren’t millions of people on the streets at the same time. The regime is effective at disrupting the protests by arresting key leaders & disrupting communications.
The @nytimes misses what’s really happening in #Iran. #Iranians have been calling for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic, not dismissal of “local officials.” Also water shortages have been caused by the regime’s corruption more than any other issue.
The regime’s excessive dam building is a major problem. So is diverting water from Khuzestan to other locals in order to profit corrupt regime officials.
The popular rebellion in southwestern #Iran is concentrated in Khuzestan & Lorestan. But it’s not an “Arab” issue. This is a lie spread by the separatists, their foreign backers, and their DC lobbyists...
Khuzestan is inhabited by Arab speakers, Persian speakers, Lurs, Bakhtiaris, and other smaller minority groups. They are all water deprived & repressed by the Islamic Republic.
Does the regime treat Arab Iranians terribly? Yes. Are there some separatist sentiments? Yes. But I have not seen any evidence that the rebellion is motivated by separatism. In fact the different ethnic groups have been calling for unity to overthrow the regime.
The rebellion against the occupying regime of the Islamic Republic in #Iran is becoming more & more widespread. Hearing that some cities have been “taken over” by rebels. This cannot be confirmed. But hard to imagine that the fire burning the regime can be controlled. Shadegan 👇🏼