Iranian-American analyst Ray Taqieh believes that despite widespread protests sparked by the death of the girl, Mahsa Amini, while detained in an Iranian police station after being arrested for violating the dress code, the speech of the president of the Country, Ibrahim Raisi, at the UN General Assembly indicates Finally, the United States indicates that the regime is unlikely to soften its attitude towards the people or the West.
These demonstrations are yet to be seen as part of an ongoing series of protests covering a wide range of concerns, Taqiah, an expert with the US Council on Foreign Relations, said in a report.
In just the past few months, Iran has been rocked by demonstrations led by economic grievances involving teachers, retirees and farmers, among other groups.
Taqieh, who previously worked at the US State Department, added that protests against the economic situation in Iran have become chronic as the government reduced support for social services in light of the high rate of inflation. Such protests are increasingly taking a political turn as the regime seeks to strengthen its hold on power.
Stricter enforcement
Last August, President Raisi signed a decree requiring a stricter application of the rules that require women to always wear the veil in public life, rules in force since 1979.
The move was widely accepted by the clergy, who now control Iranian institutions, whose members are elected or appointed, as a restoration of cultural norms that seemed to be vanishing.
In this context, Raisi, during her attendance at the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, refused to participate in an interview with CNN host Christiane Amanpour, after refusing her request to wear the veil.
She added that Iranian women have participated in previous protests, but what is extraordinary about these protests is the ferocity in opposing the regime’s policies.
Famous Iranian women cut their hair to protest the killing of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini.
The government usually addresses these protests through a combination of measures. In this case, the Iranian president spoke to Amini’s family and called for an investigation to determine the cause of her death. A representative of the Iranian leader, Ali Khamenei, also visited her family, although Amini’s father accused the regime of covering up the incident.
At the same time, the regime moved quickly to try to contain the demonstrations by arresting protest leaders and shutting down social media platforms, which according to the regime are a means of spreading the protests.
A police chief announced that more than 739 rioters, including 60 women, had been arrested. According to Iranian state television, the protests resulted in the deaths of at least 41 people.
The Iran International news site reported that the protesters chanted: “Death to the dictator, death to Khamenei”.
The last step of the authorities was the organization of a counter-demonstration, which was attended by supporters of the regime, last Friday.
No regard for the sensitivity of the West
Raisi and other leaders of the Iranian regime are indifferent to the sensitivity of the West. In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Raisi condemned Canada’s treatment of indigenous people, for example, and accused Western countries of applying double standards on human rights.
No member of the US delegation to the United Nations withdrew during an important speech, as US diplomats did in previous UN speeches by Iranian leaders.
US President Joe Biden and other Western leaders have condemned the actions of the Iranian moral police and the US Treasury has announced new sanctions against these police personnel.
In his speech to the UN General Assembly, Raisi also said that Tehran would not return to the 2015 nuclear deal without Washington’s assurances that it would not be suspended again.
Furthermore, Iranian officials have insisted that IAEA concerns about illegal nuclear material found at three sites are unfounded and the agency’s investigation should be closed. The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency indicates that Iran continues to add advanced centrifuges to its stockpiles of such devices and is accumulating more enriched uranium.
The 2015 nuclear deal limited the number and types of centrifuges Iran could use, with the aim of slowing the production process of highly enriched uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons.
Concluding his report, Taqieh pointed out that the Iranian government has long said that it is not seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, but if the Iranian nuclear program continues to grow in size and development, it will soon be able to manufacture a nuclear bomb if the ‘Iran chooses to do so, mainly because the infrastructure necessary for the production of nuclear energy and atomic weapons is suitable, and can be exploited for this purpose.
• The latest report from the International Atomic Energy Agency indicates that Iran continues to add advanced centrifuges to its inventory of these devices and is accumulating increasingly enriched uranium.
• Protests against the economic situation have become chronic in Iran, as the government has reduced support for social services in light of the high rate of inflation.
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