Two days ago, I wrote about the beginning of street protests across Iran. I hoped at the time that President Trump and his administration would not ignore those protests as president Obama and his people did in 2009. Thankfully, the President has announced American support for the protesters' right to be heard. This has been followed by statements by the State Department and other foreign policy offices of the USA (like the UN Ambassador) calling for the protesters to be allowed to state their positions without a crackdown on them. It is a very low key way to make America's position clear.
The response of the theocratic thugs who rule Iran is also coming into focus. They shut down cell phones and internet access across Iran to disrupt the ability of the protesters to get their story told. They organized counter-protests to confront the street protests. There has been some violence. As far as we know at the moment, two people are dead and many more have been injured. Meanwhile, there is also a story in the news that Sunni rebels have blown up an Iranian pipeline in the northwest portion of the country.
We cannot yet tell if the protests across Iran will die off or if they will escalate. At the moment, there seem to be protests in more and more places across Iran. The real key will be whether or not any of the Iranian military joins the protests. If a sizable portion of the Iranian army were to join the protesters, the mullahs may lose control. On the other hand, if the army sticks with the mullahs, they will be able to crush the protesters.
America should take whatever actions it can (in a low key way) to promote the cause of the protesters. The demise of the Iranian theocratic regime would get rid of the world's most important state sponsor of terrorism. It would enable some measure of peace to come to Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. It could make the world a much safer place. It would even help the USA in its push to keep North Korea from getting functional nuclear ICBMs. The stakes are high. Let's pray for a good outcome.
The response of the theocratic thugs who rule Iran is also coming into focus. They shut down cell phones and internet access across Iran to disrupt the ability of the protesters to get their story told. They organized counter-protests to confront the street protests. There has been some violence. As far as we know at the moment, two people are dead and many more have been injured. Meanwhile, there is also a story in the news that Sunni rebels have blown up an Iranian pipeline in the northwest portion of the country.
We cannot yet tell if the protests across Iran will die off or if they will escalate. At the moment, there seem to be protests in more and more places across Iran. The real key will be whether or not any of the Iranian military joins the protests. If a sizable portion of the Iranian army were to join the protesters, the mullahs may lose control. On the other hand, if the army sticks with the mullahs, they will be able to crush the protesters.
America should take whatever actions it can (in a low key way) to promote the cause of the protesters. The demise of the Iranian theocratic regime would get rid of the world's most important state sponsor of terrorism. It would enable some measure of peace to come to Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon. It could make the world a much safer place. It would even help the USA in its push to keep North Korea from getting functional nuclear ICBMs. The stakes are high. Let's pray for a good outcome.
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