Interior Minister: Recent Protests and Those of December 2017 Were Not Organized

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, Iran's Interior Minister, stated on Thursday, January 6, that the protests of various social groups in Iran over the past year were not organized. Speaking in Bushehr, he commented on the protests of the past year: "Neither in the protests of last December, nor in the protests of truck drivers and the market, nor in the issues of ethnic groups and minorities was there any organization by guilds or political currents or any organized presence in these events." He attributed the lack of organization in the protests over the past year to the "awareness and consciousness of the people and their interest in the revolution and the security of the country." The protests in December 2017 initially began in Mashhad and other cities in Razavi Khorasan Province due to rising prices and economic conditions. These protests quickly became political, with demonstrators chanting slogans against the overall structure of the Islamic Republic. According to some reports, for about 10 days, around 100 cities in Iran, including Tehran, Qom, and Ahvaz, witnessed protests. Media reports indicated that at least 25 people were killed during these protests. In this context, Faezah Hashemi, a former parliament member and political activist, stated yesterday regarding the recent protests that, on one hand, the severe repression and intimidation by the government, and on the other hand, the people's concerns about the future after the Islamic Republic, have allowed the regime to maintain the current situation. Meanwhile, President Hassan Rouhani stated this week that the people's protests in December 2017 led the U.S. to have a "misunderstanding and erroneous perception" of the Islamic Republic and to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA. Rouhani, without going into details, said: "At the beginning and end of last December, we faced problems," and "the events at the beginning of December caused the Americans to make a new stance against the Islamic Republic of Iran and the nuclear agreement at the end of December." In a September report, Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, also referred to the December 2017 protests, noting that Rahmani stated 42 instances of protests faced violence in 100 cities across the country, with between 40,000 to 45,000 people involved in the protests. Rahmani Fazli further stated that opposing countries of the Islamic Republic had a "wrong analysis" of the recent protests in Iran. The Interior Minister emphasized: "Foreign media invest so much in small issues in Iran to portray a lack of unity in the country; while none of these issues threaten national security." He added: "Enemies made the same wrong analyses in 2009, but relying on the main backing of the legitimacy and authority of the country, which is the people, and by applying precise political, security, and law enforcement measures, the country's atmosphere was managed, and in these events, the people entered the scene, and these issues ended." Rahmani Fazli continued: "In the area of security issues, I do not say we do not have threats, but we are not worried about threats because we rely on popular legitimacy and people-centered security and constantly monitor and control the situation." While Rahmani Fazli claims not to be worried about "threats," Mohammad Reza Tajik, a political advisor to former President Mohammad Khatami, likened the current situation in the country to the Titanic, a metaphor referring to the steamship that sank in 1912 with its crew and passengers. In this context, Faezah Hashemi stated: "The substantive collapse of the regime has occurred, as everywhere you look is dysfunctional." The U.S. reported that there are over 800 political prisoners in Iran. Javid Rahman, in his first human rights report, called for a visit to Iran. Ghadiani stated that the Supreme Leader has spread the corruptions of power throughout the fabric of society. Rouhani linked the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA to the December 2017 protests. The severe governmental repression and the danger of the protests going "underground" are also noted. What doctors and eyewitnesses recount about the injured in the protests highlights the severity of the situation.