While many are quick to dismiss the threat of direct and indirect foreign involvement in Iranian protests and riots, it cannot be ignored that the historic role of outside entities in escalating political unrest in Iran has been extremely destructive and divisive, especially after the 1979 Islamic Revolution when Western influence in Iranian domestic affairs became virtually nonexistent.

There are many examples of the US undermining the will of a sovereign Iran and its people. From the 1953 CIA-orchestrated coup that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister, Mohammad Mosadegh, to the US support for MEK, an organization once designated as terrorist by the US State Department, there have clearly always been Western interests in influencing the politics in Iran. In the eight-year Iran-Iraq war that broke out in 1980, the MEK fought alongside Saddam Hussein with US and western backing, even while he killed Iranian civilians and used chemical weapons [24]. The effects of the chemical poisoning are still evident today among the Iranian population, and serve as a bitter reminder of Western hypocrisy and its empty slogans of human rights.

If the 1953 CIA coup in Iran taught the Iranian people anything, it was that Western nations do not have the interest of the Iranians at heart. The US and UK overthrew Mossadegh despite the fact that he was democratically elected, led a secular democracy, and had overwhelming support among Iranians as Prime Minister.

The answer lies in a critical point about Iranian sovereignty and independence. Mossadegh was a leader known for introducing a range of social and economic policies, the most significant being the nationalization of the Iranian oil industry [25]. Prior to his leadership, Britain was in control of Iran’s oil for decades through a Anglo-Iranian Oil Co. Mossadegh broke off these negotiations and denied the British involvement in Iran’s oil industry. Having lost a major source of energy and wealth, Britain appealed to the US for help, which eventually led to Mossadegh’s being overthrown. The Shah who replaced him was willing to effectively sell Iran to the West, to a point where the nation had close to no autonomy over its own national policies and decisions.

This was also proven in the Shah Cheragh terrorist attack, which killed over 15 innocent worshippers. Investigations concluded that the terrorist who coordinated the attack was an Azerbaijani national in contact with ISIS, and the shooter, Sebahan Kamrouni, was a citizen of Tajikistan [30].  The terrorists were reportedly planning more attacks in other cities including Zahedan, but a total of 26 of them were arrested by Iranian security and intelligence forces on Monday.

The Iranian Interior Minister, Ahmad Vahidi, stated that the US, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and several European countries directly incited unrest in Iran, and that “the leaders and organizers of those unrests were carefully trained in eight countries” [84]. He further added that rioters were frequently promised payment from foreign-backed opposition groups for causing unrest, including a 500,000 toman award for each molotov cocktail they made [86]. Vahidi also explained that these foreign nations attempted to transform current events into racial conflicts by pretending to favor and support certain Iranian ethnic minorities.

Additionally, Brigadier General Hassan Hassanzadeh announced in early November that at least 1,500 weapons of all kinds were confiscated from individuals working to destroy public properties and create insecurity and danger within the public sphere. Hassanzadeh further explained that many of the arrested rioters were dual nationals as well as foreign-related intelligence workers, MEK members, and a number of individuals planning to spread riots across the capital city [85]. Brigadier Ahmad Ali Goudarzi also reported that Iranian border guards have destroyed multiple trafficking rings and found over 600 war weapons in the process [85].