Mike Pompeo: The People of Iran Are Fed Up with the Corruption and Injustice of Their Leaders

Mike Pompeo, the U.S. Secretary of State, attributed the protests in Iran to the 'corruption' of the Islamic Republic and 'injustice', stating that the world has heard the voices of protesting Iranians. This week, Tehran and several other major cities in Iran, including Tabriz, Isfahan, and Kermanshah, witnessed demonstrations and strikes by merchants protesting the skyrocketing currency rates and the ban on the import of 1,400 goods. Some of the protesters' slogans also targeted the leaders of the Islamic Republic and the government as a whole. On Wednesday, July 6, Pompeo referred to these protests on Twitter, writing: 'While Iranians struggle, the corrupt Iranian regime wastes the country's resources on Assad, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.' He further stated that the protests in Iran should not surprise anyone and predicted that Iranians would continue their protests. Pompeo had previously criticized the policies of the Islamic Republic on his Twitter account, including on June 21, when he pointed to the 30% unemployment rate among Iranian youth and the economic hardships faced by families, accusing the Islamic Republic of plundering the national wealth for proxy wars and enriching the IRGC, Hezbollah, and Hamas. Recently, the dollar rate reached nearly 9,000 tomans, which led to protests from merchants and shopkeepers in Iran. The Iranian government spokesperson attributed this monetary instability to Donald Trump's withdrawal from the JCPOA, stating on Tuesday that Washington has launched an 'economic war' against Tehran. However, in his tweet, Pompeo labeled the leaders of the Islamic Republic as 'incompetent' and emphasized that the people of Iran are 'fed up with the corruption, injustice, and incompetence of their leaders.' On May 8, the U.S. President had given foreign companies six months to cut their business ties with Iran following the withdrawal from the JCPOA, but sanctions against Iran have not yet resumed, which led to the collapse of the Iranian national currency. In this context, Iranian officials have warned that they will deal severely with 'economic disruptors.' Sadegh Larijani, the head of Iran's judiciary, described 'economic disruptors' as those who 'want to destabilize the market by pouring their money into the market and hoarding dollars and coins.' He also threatened that this could lead to the death penalty. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also called on Wednesday for the judiciary to deal with what he termed 'economic security disruptors.'