Iran Decrypted Finale: Iranians’ Agency to Decide for Themselves

Iran Decrypted Finale: Iranians’ Agency to Decide for Themselves

As modern conflict moves away from hard industrial war to soft information warfare, the recent political unrest in Iran must be analyzed from a new global perspective, one that recognizes the convergence of historical contexts, present-day challenges, and future impacts within an international framework.

Iran Decrypted Finale: Iranians’ Agency to Decide for Themselves

As modern conflict moves away from hard industrial war to soft information warfare, the recent political unrest in Iran must be analyzed from a new global perspective, one that recognizes the convergence of historical contexts, present-day challenges, and future impacts within an international framework.

Iran Decrypted IX: Iran’s Executions of Protesters

Written by: Sara Salimi | Copy Editors: Zainabrights, Fatima Alhajri | Design: Fatima El-Zein | Consultants: Fiza Raza, Batool Subeiti

Iranians are not a politically homogeneous population; no single nation in the world is. Mainstream accounts divide them into two political extremes, but most Iranians are somewhere in between. While their chants in times of political unrest may be different, they are a nation of people who have struggled together, stood together, and endured overwhelming odds together.

Strategically labeling Iranians as either pro-regime or anti-regime is akin to defining the US population as either pro-government or anti-government. Thus, narrating the story of Iranians as that of an anti-regime group seeking to overthrow pro-regime entities is a naive and inaccurate one. It ignores the nuance in their opinions, the depth to their demands, and the context behind their grievances.

An example of the vast differences in political opinion regarding recent protests are the three-day strikes that have been taking place in Iran. One of the most highly advertised strikes happened on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of November, marking the anniversary of 2019 protests in Iran over the sharp rises in fuel prices. While some shop and bazaar owners closed down their stores in support of the strike, video footage and evidence from Tehran streets revealed that the extent to which the strikes were covered by foreign news agencies and social media platforms was highly exaggerated [91]. 

Several shops issued statements on social media that they would be closed in support of the strikes, but videos later revealed that they had stayed open, and online businesses continued to sell products via DMs on Instagram. Video footage also revealed that a number of rioters threatened bazaar workers in Tehran’s Iron Market to force shopkeepers to close down their businesses, and broke their car windows in the process [92].

Strategically labeling Iranians as either pro-regime or anti-regime is akin to defining the US population as either pro-government or anti-government. Thus, narrating the story of Iranians as that of an anti-regime group seeking to overthrow pro-regime entities is a naive and inaccurate one. It ignores the nuance in their opinions, the depth to their demands, and the context behind their grievances.

The example of these strikes is a key component in recognizing the sentiments within Iranian society, as the act of striking is one of the major forms of protest against governments. The recent strikes reveal that while some Iranians do support strikes as a means of incurring major blows to the government and showing dissent, others recognize that strikes harm civilians, their livelihoods, and their sources of income during already challenging times for the Iranian people. The lack of strikes also reveals that many of the shopkeepers and Iranians have been going about their lives as usual. 

Understanding this reality also means recognizing that Iranians are more than capable to voice their protests and opinions without needing a mouthpiece from the West or foreign entities who have already claimed leadership over them. While a number of Western-funded Iranian news outlets have proudly stated that protests in Iran are “a united movement without a leader,” it is also concerning that the absence of leadership is allowing foreign entities to claim a right over Iranians’ voices to feed their own agendas [29]. The absence of leadership is also a root cause of escalating conflict and chaos, as has been witnessed in recent protests and strikes. 

An example of the vast differences in political opinion regarding recent protests are the three-day strikes that have been taking place in Iran. One of the most highly advertised strikes happened on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of November, marking the anniversary of 2019 protests in Iran over the sharp rises in fuel prices. While some shop and bazaar owners closed down their stores in support of the strike, video footage and evidence from Tehran streets revealed that the extent to which the strikes were covered by foreign news agencies and social media platforms was highly exaggerated [91].

Several shops issued statements on social media that they would be closed in support of the strikes, but videos later revealed that they had stayed open, and online businesses continued to sell products via DMs on Instagram. Video footage also revealed that a number of rioters threatened bazaar workers in Tehran’s Iron Market to force shopkeepers to close down their businesses, and broke their car windows in the process [92].

Written by: Sara Salimi | Copy Editors: Zainabrights, Fatima Alhajri | Design: Fatima El-Zein | Consultants: Fiza Raza, Batool Subeiti

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