Continued Reflection of Protests in Iran in Foreign Media

Fox News has focused on the prominent role of women in the recent protests in Iran, stating that the most significant images from these protests have been of women rather than men. Despite American media not adequately covering these protests, Twitter has been filled with images and videos of the demonstrations. One of the most interesting images shared recently is of a woman who removed her hijab and waved her scarf like a flag. Unconfirmed reports have emerged suggesting that this unidentified girl has been arrested, and the location where she stood has now become a famous site. However, due to a lack of access to accurate reports from inside Iran, this cannot be confirmed with certainty. Nevertheless, this young woman quickly became a symbol of the protests over the past five days in Iran. But this is not the only prominent and symbolic scene shared on social media. Another video circulating on social media shows a woman confronting security forces while chanting 'Death to Khamenei,' with the crowd joining her. In another video, a protesting woman states, 'You raised your fists and destroyed our lives. Now we raise our fists. Be men and join us. I stand as a woman and will protect you.' Another image published in the media, apparently from outside the University of Tehran, shows a young girl fleeing from tear gas while raising her fist and covering her face. She symbolizes a large group of secular youth and students in the country protesting the Iranian government's policies in Syria and its support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah. Fox News states that women are the main face of the recent protests in Iran. The network adds: In such circumstances, one must ask where the women's rights organizations in the U.S. and Europe, which protested against Donald Trump's presidency last year, are now, and why they do not support the struggle of women in Iran? According to this network, left-wing politicians and civil organizations aligned with the Democratic Party in the U.S. face a serious contradiction in this regard. Those who have strongly supported Barack Obama's administration's nuclear deal with the Iranian government seem to forget to support Iranian women protesters when it comes to politics. Al Jazeera, in an analytical piece by Ahmad Sadri, discusses the reasons for the recent protests in Iran, stating that periodic protests in Iran, such as those known as the Green Movement or the recent movements, must be examined against the backdrop of the characteristics and features of the Islamic government of Iran. According to Ahmad Sadri, deep within this deeply autocratic system are limited elements of democracy that manifest in the form of presidential or parliamentary elections. The existence of these democratic elements, despite all the weaknesses and mismanagements within the country and international and regional challenges, has prolonged the life of the Iranian government. Iranian reformists have failed to fulfill their mission because, according to Iran's constitution, most powers are in the hands of the leadership of the regime. Elected officials and institutions like the presidency and parliament have no power to control the actions and decisions of the leadership, let alone the media, civil institutions, and citizens of the country. The recent protests are a sign of the people's frustration with the strictness and inflexibility of the Iranian government structure. Reformist forces have tried to strengthen the democratic elements of this system for about a decade after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, but each time they faced severe resistance from conservatives, led by the leadership of the order. A prominent example is the two presidential terms of Mohammad Khatami, during which the conservative and authoritarian faction created repeated crises that effectively blocked reforms. In 2009, widespread protests erupted in response to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's re-election, which were suppressed by security forces. In the 2013 election, the majority of the people, fed up with the continuation of sanctions and the disastrous management of Ahmadinejad's team, supported Hassan Rouhani, a moderate politician, and once again hope for economic improvement and a more open society emerged. However, aside from the nuclear deal with the international community, which the authoritarian faction of the Iranian government was also forced to support conditionally, Hassan Rouhani's presidency has not been able to implement the fundamental demands of the people for change in Iran. Al Jazeera adds that the exposure of corruption cases and the continued rise in consumer goods prices have created the grounds for public protests. Ebrahim Raisi, Hassan Rouhani's conservative electoral rival, and Ahmad Alamolhoda, his father-in-law who holds significant power in Mashhad and Razavi Khorasan Province, organized demonstrations against Rouhani, blaming him for the increase in prices. Mr. Sadri added that the protest over the rising price of eggs was the initial spark for the recent rebellious movements, but it is by no means the driving force behind them. The sudden expansion of these movements has led to speculations that regional rivals of the Iranian government, the Saudi Arabia-Israel-U.S. coalition, may have played a role in them. The 2009 protests, known as the Green Movement, unlike the recent protests, had a clear political agenda and experienced leaders who were quickly arrested, tried, and imprisoned. Sky News reports that Google is under pressure to remove the barriers preventing Iranian users from using anti-censorship tools as the suppression of protests continues in Iran. Simultaneously, after the government cut off access to popular social media and media outlets, the number of users utilizing censorship circumvention software has sharply increased, reaching over 10,000. Despite repeated claims by Hassan Rouhani that critics and opponents of his government would have the necessary space to express their opinions, the Iranian government continues to block access to social media. Although information on how users utilize censorship circumvention tools reaches outside with a two-day delay, collected statistics indicate that the use of a tool known as 'Tor' has significantly increased, reaching about 10,000 cases. Sky News added that although Donald Trump has supported the recent protests in Iran, one of the factors preventing Iranians from easily using censorship circumvention tools is the U.S. sanctions against Iran. Experts told Sky News that the 'Tor' tool, which allows users to operate anonymously on Google, is accessible in other countries like Egypt or the United Arab Emirates, but due to U.S. sanctions against Iran, Google does not provide this option to Iranian users. Edward Snowden, a former employee of U.S. intelligence agencies, tweeted that if American politicians are serious about their support for protests in Iran, a simple call to Google could enable millions of protesters to communicate and organize. Google has not yet responded to media reports and news on this matter.