The Ongoing Story of Protests

The newspaper Shahrvand reported on the "Ongoing Story of Protests": "Street protests that began a few days ago in the city of Mashhad have spread to other cities, reaching cities such as Ahvaz, Shiraz, Khorramabad, Bandar Abbas, and Urmia yesterday, while Tehran's Enghelab Street also witnessed these protests." The newspaper wrote: "These gatherings initially focused on economic issues, but political activists from both political factions had differing views on the matter. Some members of parliament and political activists, who were mostly critics of the government, linked these protests and gatherings to rising prices and the economic situation, which they believe the government is responsible for. On the other hand, some government supporters considered the essence of these protests to be a broader issue that requires national consensus. However, as these street protests continued, the slogans transcended economic concerns and took on a political hue." Shahrvand also reported that "on Saturday, after the protests began, rumors circulated on social media about the approval of a curfew in Tehran starting from 8 PM the previous night. However, shortly after these rumors spread, Hossein Hamdani, the security and police deputy of Tehran province, denied the curfew news in an interview with ISNA." The government-aligned newspaper Iran also reported that "the gatherings that began on Friday in Mashhad under the slogan 'No to Price Hikes' spread to some cities on Saturday and reached Tehran." This newspaper noted that "the focal point of the Saturday gathering in the capital was the area between Enghelab Square and Vali Asr Intersection," stating: "Around noon on Saturday, a number of students from Tehran University shouted protest slogans. The slogans sometimes targeted the government and sometimes went beyond that." It continued: "After the protests began at Tehran University, the police attempted to close the doors to the students, which led to unrest; however, the university doors were eventually closed. An hour later, some students shouted slogans in support of the officials. The slogans were varied; less economic and more political. During the slogans, both reformists and conservatives were criticized." The Iran newspaper also reported that "around 5 PM on Saturday, it was announced that the Tehran Metro was not picking up passengers at Enghelab and Vali Asr stations." Quoting Mohsen Mohammadian, the public relations manager of the Tehran Metro, it stated: "The train on this line passes every 9 minutes. Only the Enghelab and Vali Asr metro stations in Tehran are not picking up passengers due to the protests and security issues, and passengers have been evacuated." This newspaper also referred to reports about "gunfire being heard in Imam Hossein Square" in Tehran, quoting Mohsen Nasj Hamdani, the security deputy of Tehran province, who stated: "I am unaware of this news and cannot confirm it, but there were illegal gatherings held by some individuals in Enghelab Street between Enghelab Square and Vali Asr Intersection." The security deputy also mentioned that "the provincial security council has been formed and has made decisions, which are confidential." The Iran newspaper also reported that "three students were arrested during the events at Tehran University, of which two were released." The newspaper Jam-e-Farda also emphasized that "protests and demonstrations continue in Iran," stating: "On Saturday, the scope of these protests and demonstrations reached other cities such as Shahrekord, Arak, Shiraz, Bandar Abbas, Semnan, Hashtgerd, Ahvaz, Tehran, etc., and according to some reports, the area around Enghelab Square, especially Tehran University and Vali Asr Square, witnessed protests and slogans against price hikes and the current situation in the country." This newspaper recalled that "the recent unrest, which began on Friday in Mashhad in protest against price hikes and living conditions, spread to other parts of Iran and some other cities such as Rasht, Kermanshah, Qazvin, Isfahan, etc., where people gathered in city squares to protest their economic and living conditions." Jam-e-Farda noted that "these protests have prompted reactions from many government officials and political figures. Many of them attributed the roots of such protests to opponents and critics of the government, analyzing that these demonstrations and gatherings were organized by critics and rival factions of the government." However, the newspaper stated, "this was not the end of the story. It seems that the extent of the protests and the presence of people in the streets depended on more factors, and the slogans went beyond criticism of Hassan Rouhani's government. On Saturday, Tehran University also witnessed protests that led to confrontations." This newspaper also mentioned in a note that "the reporters of Jam-e-Farda attempted to discuss the nature of the unrest and how the government and law enforcement dealt with these demonstrations with several figures from reformist and conservative media, but they did not succeed." It stated: "Some of these figures, who usually have lengthy comments on any issue, refrained from discussing or postponed it. Some even turned off their phones and made themselves unreachable, indicating confusion in understanding the ongoing events and possibly fear of saying something that might later tarnish their media image. However, this avoidance from the scene by reformist and conservative experts will have many costs. The first of which was shouted by a number of students at Tehran University yesterday: 'Reformist, conservative - the story is over.'" The Jam-e-Farda newspaper, in its editorial titled "The Second Way," wrote: "The events of the past three days have once again highlighted the need to reconsider how the country is governed and how the government interacts with the people. What makes this necessary is the image that citizens have of the government - meaning all components of the ruling system. It has now become clear that the majority of citizens are not those who are filmed shouting against the president; rather, the majority are those who evaluate our government's performance against the actions of various government components in economic, social, cultural, and political spheres and oppose the corruption that we all acknowledge has tainted most of the apparatus, the irrational economic actions, the unnecessary social and cultural strictness, and the injustice in behaviors." This newspaper emphasized that "the majority is dissatisfied with the shortcomings and seeks an opportunity to express this dissatisfaction and pursue their demands." It stated: "There are only two ways: either to deny and suppress the demands and grievances or to engage in constructive dialogue with society. Society must be told that it can express its demands - whatever they may be - and not be silenced. Opening this wise second path should not be entrusted to those who harbor resentment due to the votes of six months ago. This path should be entrusted, before it is too late, to those who can rekindle the people's interest and desire for this republic." Hassan D. Ashna, head of the Strategic Research Center of the Presidency, who is mentioned as one of Hassan Rouhani's advisors, in a note in the Iran newspaper titled "Be Aware," attacked Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, analyzing the former president as a factor in these protests, stating: "Given Mr. Ahmadinejad's overall political and administrative performance, his current positions, and the effective role of the behind-the-scenes current supporting him in the ongoing events, it can be said that the flames of Ahmadinejad's seditions will haunt the system for a long time; because his decisions and actions can be evaluated not as ignorance but as a program to create structural, strategic, and functional crises in the entirety of the Islamic Republic system." This government official recalled a sentence from Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's open letter to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic on the eve of the 2009 elections, in which he wrote: "Eliminating dangerous seditions and extinguishing the fire that is currently visible in the atmosphere." The head of the Strategic Research Center of the Presidency also wrote: "Security and law enforcement officials must face the protests with patience, but we must be aware that in no country have any of these crises been resolved in the streets and through violence. Conspiracy and intrigue groups have proven at least twice that they can deceive the masses, those who have a notorious history of guiding and supporting the main suspect of the Kahrizak tragedy, do not hesitate to create bloodshed of the innocent and blind the knot of problems, and are even willing to signal green lights to Trump, Netanyahu, and bin Salman from within." Meanwhile, Kayhan, quoting the representative of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic in this newspaper, wrote: "The existing evidence and documents indicate that the hardships of people's livelihoods, inflation, price hikes, and unemployment are not only due to the government's inefficiency but also a mission that the seditionists took on after their failure in the American-Israeli sedition of 2009 and have pursued this mission by infiltrating Rouhani's government." According to this newspaper, Hossein Shariatmadari, who was speaking in Rasht on the occasion of 9 Dey, referred to the recent gatherings, including one that took place in one of the squares in Rasht, stating: "In these gatherings, except for a few who were deceived by the pretext of the gathering, which was a protest against the hardships of living, and left the scene quickly upon witnessing the disruptive slogans, the rest repeated the same slogans from 2009, including 'No Gaza, No Lebanon' (No Gaza, No Lebanon, my life is for Iran), and 'The foreign media supporting these gatherings are precisely the same media that supported the current government during the 2017 elections and today are shouting against Mr. Rouhani.'" The newspaper Javan, close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in a note titled "Political Surfing on Social Dissatisfaction" wrote about the city protests: "The political representation of economic protests, whether from the anti-revolutionary opportunists or from the irresponsible comfortable managers, not only does not help solve the issue but also creates serious challenges for both the people and the system." This newspaper stated: "A brief examination of the participants in these gatherings shows that we are faced with two types of individuals with different origins and demands. One majority, mainly from the lower middle class and the marginalized and impoverished segments of society, primarily has demands of a livelihood and economic nature, such as solving banking problems, unemployment, inflation, etc. A minority, however, is also more active in these gatherings, including supporters of anti-revolutionary groups and some labeled thugs. Although the first group is fed up with economic and livelihood uncertainty and raises their voices in protest, the presence of the second group is more politically motivated or adventurous. The clear result of this relationship can be observed in the disruptive and sometimes meaningless slogans that are shouted in these gatherings." The Javan newspaper emphasized that "the main origin of these gatherings should be sought in the protests of the victims of credit institutions that have occurred in recent times, especially over the past year," stating: "The gatherings of victims and depositors are not new, but perhaps what has accompanied other weak segments of society is the disappointment from the fruits of the JCPOA and the end of the waiting opportunity for it on one hand, and on the other hand, serious concerns that the 2018 budget bill has created for the people." However, it stated: "What is currently being represented and presented to the world by the anti-revolutionaries and the media of the ruling system from the recent unrest is the 'conveying of dissatisfaction and political transformation.'" This newspaper emphasized that the way to confront these protests is to "find a way to separate the majority with livelihood demands from the political or adventurous minority." The newspaper Jomhouri Islami, in a note titled "Organizing People's Demands," emphasized that "there is no doubt that people should be allowed to express their views and any confrontation and obstruction will have worse consequences, and experiences of that are evident to all." It stated that "if there were strong and comprehensive political parties that could manage and lead popular protests, there would be no cause for concern, and the streets could be filled with protesting people. In the absence of this deficiency, the gatherings of people are threatened by the surfing of individuals and currents that are not of the people, from opposition groups and individuals opposing the system to the plague of political settlements among insiders, of course, using the people instrumentally." The newspaper Farhikhtegan also referred to the urban protests as "chaos," stating: "The social and political scene of Iran witnessed significant events from Friday afternoon until the last hours of the previous day. Contrary to the initial analyses of the economic protests, the situation changed. On Saturday, in several locations across the country, including Tehran, scenes of chaos and street riots were observed, which have traces of security planning, to the extent that on Saturday night in several areas of Tehran, several groups of dozens of people engaged in vandalism and chaos, similar to 2009." This newspaper emphasized that "the narrative of economic demands and criticisms in this context is inconsistent with the actions in the field; the disruptive slogans, chaos, and destruction of streets clearly have no connection to economic issues, indicating that at least the matter is political.