Hook on the Islamic Republic: Discontent with this regime has always been on the rise

Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, in a video message posted on Twitter, emphasized that the United States is monitoring protests in Iran and that discontent with the Islamic Republic has always been increasing. Mr. Hook added that U.S. officials had previously followed the public protests in Iran during the protests of December 2017. His reference includes teachers in several cities in Iran who are abstaining from attending classes in protest of their living conditions. Iranian truck drivers have also gone on strike multiple times in protest of issues such as 'fuel supply for gas stations', 'the fixed freight rates amid rising prices of spare parts, especially oil and tires, and the non-payment of the government’s share of drivers' insurance premiums.' The officials of the Islamic Republic have always responded to these professional protests with threats and the detention of activists. Brian Hook's video begins with an image of a whiteboard that reads: 'I am on strike because I am below the poverty line.' According to him, the reality is that since the Islamic Republic came to power in 1979, 'in every decade that has passed, the regime has lost part of society.' The U.S. Special Representative for Iran stated that 'discontent with the regime (Iran) continues to increase' and added that Washington supports 'the demands of the Iranian people for change.' As Brian Hook states in this video, the U.S. supports Iranian citizens, especially regarding human rights issues that the Islamic Republic violates against its people. According to this U.S. official, the people of Iran are part of an 'authentic and extraordinary history' and he added that he does not believe the Islamic Republic regime is a 'representative' of the history that the Iranian people have 'inherited.' Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, had previously stated in a video addressed to the Iranian people that the goal of U.S. sanctions is solely to 'change the destructive behavior' of the Islamic Republic government and that these sanctions do not target humanitarian transactions such as medicine and food. However, Iranian officials claim that even banks that 'play a key role in importing food and medicine' have been sanctioned 'on the pretext of connections to the Basij through eight intermediaries.' In recent years and during previous sanctions against Iran, there have always been numerous reports about the problems of importing medicine and medical equipment to Iran due to Western sanctions. Recently, a number of Iranian artists, activists, cultural figures, and journalists signed an open letter and launched a campaign against unilateral U.S. sanctions, calling on 'the people of the world' to stand in solidarity with them against the sanctions.