2017–18 Iranian protests
Protests in City Theater of Tehran, 30 December 2017
Date	28 December 2017 – ongoing (335 weeks and 6 days)
Location	Iran
Caused by	Economic hardships[1] Government corruption[1] Opposition to Iranian involvement in regional conflicts[1] Human rights issues Opposition to the government[2]
Goals	Overthrow of the existing government of Iran Removal of Ali Khamenei[3][4][5][4][6][7][8]
Methods	Demonstrations, riots, civil disobedience
Status	Ongoing
Parties
Protesters Government of Iran Disciplinary Force YEGUP[9] IRGC[8] Basij[10] Pro-government demonstrators
Lead figures
No known leaders Monarchists and People's Mujahedin of Iran (according to IRGC).[11] Ali Khamenei Hassan Rouhani Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli Mohammad Ali Jafari
Number
Tens of thousands inside Iran.[12] Thousands of Iranian expatriates outside Iran.[13][7] Tens of thousands of Basij forces, police, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Intelligence Ministry.[14]
Casualties
Death(s)	23 protesters[15][16] 1 police[17][18]
Arrested	1,000+ arrested[19][20]

The 2017–18 Iranian protests (Persian: اعتراضات ۱۳۹۶ ایران) are a series of protests occurring throughout Iran. Beginning 28 December in Mashhad, Iran's second-largest city by population, protests focused on the economic policies of the government of Iran; however, as protests spread throughout the country, their scope has expanded to include political opposition to the theocratic regime of Iran and its longtime Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.^[21]

The protests mark the most intense domestic challenge to the Iranian government since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests.^[22] However, these protests differ from the Green movement in participants, causes, goals, and chants.^[23][24] While some analysts suggest the protests are a result of unfavorable economic policies adopted by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's administration, other analysts point to the population's high dissatisfaction with the theocratic regime and Supreme Leader as the actual cause of the unrest.^[25][26][2]

Protests allegedly turned violent in some parts of the country, the Iranian authorities said protesters attacked police stations, military personnel and installations, and started fires.^[27] As of 2 January 2018, at least twenty-one protesters and two security force members have been killed. Additionally, 1,000 demonstrators have been arrested.^[20][17] On 5 January 2018, four special rapporteurs of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Iranian government to respect rights of protesters and end its blocking of the Internet.^[28]

The Iranian authorities staged pro-government rallies in more than a dozen cities across Iran.^[29]

Background

The initial spark for the protests was a sudden jump in food prices. It is believed that hard-line opponents of Rouhani instigated the first demonstrations in the conservative city of Mashhad in eastern Iran, trying to direct public anger at the president. But as protests spread from town to town, the backlash turned against the entire ruling class.

— Associated Press, 6 January^[30]

The 2017 events are the largest protest in Iran since the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests.^[22]

In 2006, following international concerns regarding the government's nuclear program, a comprehensive, international sanctions regime was imposed on Iran. In 2015, Iran negotiated a deal with the great powers of the world in exchange for economic relief. Many Iranians hoped relief from sanctions would result in economic prosperity; however, benefits have not reached the average Iranian.^[31] Recent economic hardships have appeared to incite economic protests and shine light on government corruption.^[32]

In December 2017 a draft government budget was leaked which favoured the foundations of Ayatollahs and the Revolutionary Guards while cutting subsidies for poor people.^[33] This caused widespread anger, with the hashtag #pashimanam (we regret [our vote for Rouhani]) going viral across the country.^[33] Protesters registered their opposition to cuts to fuel and cash subsidies, contained in the 2018 budget proposal unveiled in mid-December. The generous government funding of the Revolutionary Guards remained unaffected,^[34] and there were large increases for religious foundations, which are not required to declare how they spend their funds, and are "tied closely to powerful clerics and often serve as machines for patronage and propaganda to build support for their authority."^[30]

Timeline

The demonstrations were started by crowds protesting across Iran, including in Mashhad, the second-most populous city. Protests spread to over 70 towns and cities,^[35] including Neyshabour, Kashan, Kerman, Kermanshah, Kashmar, Rasht, Esfahan, Arak, Bandar Abbas, Ardabil, Qazvin, Hamedan, Sari, Babol, Amol, Shahinshahr, Shahrekord, Shiraz, Khorramabad, Zanjan, Gorgan, Zahedan, Urmia, Dorud, Yazd and Shahroud.^[36]

In many protests throughout the country people also chanted "bless your soul" and other slogans praising Reza Shah,^{[37][38][39][40]} whose dynasty was deposed in the Iranian Revolution in which the modern Islamic republic was established. Protestors also shouted slogans praising Mohammad Reza Pahlavi,^[41] and his son and former heir-apparent, the exiled Reza Pahlavi, Crown Prince of Iran. The protesters called for Khamenei to step down,^[3][38] as well as torn down,^[5] and set fire to posters of Khamenei in Tehran. Protesters also shouted: "Khamenei, shame on you, leave the country alone!"^[38] and "death to the dictator".^[6] Protesters also chanted "People are paupers while the mullahs live like gods."^[42]

28 December

The protests in Iran erupted on 28 December 2017. Several crowds were seen protesting across Iran, including in Mashhad, the second most populous city, as well as a several hundred person protest in Tehran, the capital. There were also protests in Neyshabour, Kashmar, Yazd and Shahroud.^[36] The protests were allegedly organised on social media messaging apps. Crowds were seen chanting "We don't want an Islamic Republic!", "death to Rouhani", as well as "death to the dictator".^[43]

The protests were initially for economic woes, against the high price of goods and commodities, but has "quickly changed" to protesting Iranian involvement in the Middle East, as well as the government itself.^{[36][43][44][45][39][excessive citations]}

29 December

Demonstrations continued on Friday past sunset. Protests spread to several major cities including Rasht, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Qom, Sari, Zahedan, and Qazvin.^[46] A small number of people were arrested in Tehran.^[47]

30 December

On 30 December the protests escalated, as three were killed and others wounded in shooting by Revolutionary Guards during night protests in central Iran.^[48] As Saturday coincided with the anniversary of 30 December 2009 pro-government rally in Iran, some 4000 people attended a pro-government rally in Tehran.^[49] According to state television, pro-government rallies were held in 1200 towns and cities in all.^[50] At the same time, anti-government riots spread to Tehran for the first time, where students in Tehran University chanted anti-government slogans before getting dispersed by riot police.^[50] Posters of Khamenei were torn down at Tehran University.^[5] Internet access was shut down in parts of the country, including many areas in Tehran.^[51]

31 December

Iran's interior minister Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli warned that those who "disrupt the order and break the law must be responsible for their behavior and pay the price". Rahmani Fazli said in a statement on state television that "fear and terror will definitely be confronted."^[52] VOA Persian's service identified the victims as Hamzeh Lashni and Hossein Reshno after a reporter spoke to the victims' families.^[52]

Anti-government protests continued for a fourth day. Some scattered demonstrations in Tehran and families of arrested protesters gathering outside Evin prison.^[52] 200 people were arrested in Tehran on Sunday, and another 10 were arrested in West Azerbaijan province.^[53]

Rouhani, in his first comments after days of anti-government demonstrations said people have the right to protest but stressed violence, vandalism and inflammatory political slogans must be avoided as these only worsen the conditions of the people.^[52]

According to Iran's State media accounts, which could not be confirmed by independent sources, some armed demonstrators tried to take control of police stations and military bases but were repulsed by security forces.^[54] It has confirmed that 10 people have been killed during clashes Sunday night.^[55]

1 January

Protests continued on Monday in Tehran and other cities throughout the country.^[56] State media reported that one member of its security forces was shot and killed during protests on 1 January.^[18]

2 January

Clashes overnight between protesters and security forces killed nine people. State television reported that six of these deaths occurred after rioters tried to storm a police station in Qahdarijan with the intention of stealing weapons.^[57] Additionally, an 11-year-old boy and a 20-year-old man were killed in the town of Khomeinishahr, and a Revolutionary Guard member was killed in Najafabad. All three were killed with hunting rifles.^[17] 550 people have been arrested since the start of protests.^[20][58] 90 percent of those arrested are younger than 25 years old.^[59][60]

3 January

On 3 January, there were sporadic demonstrations throughout Iran. In the city of Malayer demonstrations started after sundown and their chants targeted the Supreme Leader. Videos online also showed demonstrations in the northern city of Noshahr, with protesters shouting "death to the dictator".^[7][8] On the other hand, IRGC head Mohammad Ali Jafari announced the end of "the sedition".^[61] In a sign of official concern about the resilience of the protests, the Revolutionary Guards commander, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said he had dispatched forces to Hamadan, Isfahan and Lorestan provinces to tackle "the new sedition".^[8]

4 January

According to an Iranian intelligence ministry announcement on 4 January, three IRGC members were killed dismantling an anti-government "terrorist cell" in northwestern city of Piranshar. Per IRGC, the "terrorist cell", which possessed weapons and explosives, was said to have been assigned with bombings and murder of innocents in Iran in order to escalate the unrest.^[62][63] On Thursday, 4 January, multiple cities across Iran were the site of anti–government demonstrations, namely: Sanandaj, Bukan, Kamyaran, Dezful, Ahvaz and Rasht.^[64]

5 January

UN human rights experts urged Iran to respect rights of protesters, and end the Internet crackdown.^[28]

7 January

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard said that Iran's people and security forces, including the Basij, police, and Intelligence Ministry, had defeated the unrest. The IRGC said the United States, Britain, Israel, Saudi Arabia, People's Mujahedin of Iran, and monarchists were responsible for the unrest. For the fifth day, staged rallies were held against the anti-government protests.^[11]

It was revealed that former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have been arrested in Iran and kept under house arrest with the approval of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, for “inciting violence.”^[14]

On 7 January it was also revealed the Sina Ghanbari, a 23 year old man arrested during the protests, had died at Evin prison due to unspecified reasons.^[16]

Pro-government rallies

The protests coincided with annual rally of 4,000 people in support of the government and commemorating the 9 Dey rally.^{[49][65][66][49]} The pro-government demonstrations were orchestrated by the government, and many of those 4,000 attending were bused in and given the same or similar placards with Khamenei's photo on them.

On 3 January, thousands of counter protesters marched in pro-government rallies broadcast on national television,^[67] with many holding government-distributed placards and some people chanting slogans in support of Khamenei^[68] and against alleged US involvement in the unrest.^[69] According to the Washington Post, the rallies appeared like "state-organized gatherings",^[70] while the Revolutionary Guards-affiliated Fars news agency described them as "the revolutionary outburst of Iranian people against lawbreakers".^[67]

Staged pro-government rallies continued in the following days in several Iranian cities.^[71]

Demonstrations outside of Iran

On 3 January, Iranians living outside of Iran staged demonstrations in support of the protests in Iran. These rallies took place in cities such as Stockholm, Athens, Bern, and Cologne.^[7] On 7 January, thousands of demonstrators holding placards with pictures of Reza Pahlavi marched in Los Angeles, home to a large Iranian expatriate community, to show support for anti-regime protests in Iran.^[13]

Casualties

In the first four days of protests, 12 protesters were killed in clashes with security forces.^[55] On 1 January, state media reported the death of a security force member in Tehran, after he was shot with a hunting rifle.^[18] As of 2 January, a total of 21 protesters have been killed, six of whom were killed following a failed raid on a police station.^[57] Included among the dead are five people in Qahderijan and six in Tuyserkan.^[42]

Damage to public property

On 30 December 2017, Tasnim News Agency reported that fifty protesters BRT stations and broke the handrails in Ferdowsi square, Tehran.^[72] According to the report of the Tehran mayor, Mohammad Ali Najafi, the damage to the public properties in Tehran "was not that serious" and only some of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stations and a number of garbage cans have been burned.^[73]

The Washington Post reported that in some cases protesters have attacked police stations and government buildings.^[74]

The Islamic Republic News Agency said that weapons and police's uniform among protesters were taken into custody by Iranian security guards.^[75]

Government reactions

English banned in primary school

Iran banned the teaching of English in primary school after the mass protests. Khamenei claimed it paved the way for "cultural invasion" of Western values.^[76]

Media censorship

In statements by the Iranian Minister of Interior Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli, he said that the improper use of social media was "causing violence and fear", further stating that "such behavior will be smashed".^[77] Iranian state news channel Islamic Republic of Iran News Network was banned from covering the protests.^[78]

Internet

In some regions, Iran's internet service providers, which are either directly owned by or closely tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, which reports directly to the Supreme Leader of Iran, have blocked internet access in several cities as protests continue.^[79] Previously, several satellite networks in Iran were jammed, and internet and telephone in some areas were cut.^[80] VPNs, which had offered a backdoor to the internet, were also turned off.^[33]

According to OpenDNS's BGP Stream, on 1 January 2018 Iran's internet traffic dropped close to 50%.^[81][82] Meanwhile, the number of Iranians making use of TOR has increased significantly during the protests.^[83]

Telegram

Messaging service Telegram played a vital part in organizing the protests.^[84]

On 30 December, the Iranian government requested the closing of a Telegram channel operated by Roohollah Zam which called for use of handmade explosives against the security forces. The request was honored by Telegram, and its CEO Pavel Durov received criticism for complying with the request. The channel was reinstated on the next day after the admin who published the post calling for violence was dismissed.^[85] On 31 December, Iranian government blocked access to Telegram after it refused to ban another channel.^[86] Telegram CEO Pavel Durov tweeted that "Iranian authorities are blocking access to Telegram for the majority of Iranians after our public refusal to shut down telegram.me/sedaiemardom and other peacefully protesting channels."^[87]

Instagram

Iran blocked Instagram on 31 December 2017.^[88][89][90] The authorities have stated the filtering will be temporary.^[91]

Twitter

Both the Supreme Leader and the foreign minister posted messages regarding the protests on Twitter. However, Twitter is banned for the general public in Iran.^{[citation needed]}

Media coverage

Reports by independent media organizations in Iran was restricted.^[77] However, Iran's state media covered Rouhani's comments about the protests who said "people have the right to criticize" but the authorities would not tolerate antisocial behavior which is "different from violence and destroying public properties".^[91]

Elliott Abrams criticized The New York Times for what he considers misleading coverage of Iran's protests. In his view, the news coverage diminishes the value of Iran's protests, limiting it to the economic sphere, while the slogans suggest that the political dimension of the demonstrations is also significant.^[92]

Reactions

National

• Khamenei blamed the enemies of the Islamic Republic for the unrest, saying, "In the events of the past few days, the enemies of Iran are deploying every means at their disposal including money, arms and political and intelligence support to coordinate making troubles for the Islamic establishment".^[93]
• Rouhani phoned French president Emmanuel Macron to implore him to act against the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (People's Mujahedin of Iran), an exiled Iranian opposition group based in Paris, and accused them of fomenting the recent unrest.^[94]
• Rouhani stated that Iranian people have an inalienable right to express their criticism against their country's problems but he added that violence and attacks on public properties must be avoided. He further said that protests should not be expressed in a manner that makes people feel their lives and the revolution have been threatened. He asked security forces to avoid the use of violence "as they did so far". In reference to US President Trump's expression of support for the protestors he said, "this man in the US who pretends to have sympathy for our people today should keep in mind that he was the one who called the Iranian nation terrorists months ago. This man who is against Iranians wholeheartedly has no right to feel sympathy for the people of Iran.”^[95]
• Iranian foreign ministry's spokesman, Bahram Qassemi, responded to Trump's tweets saying "the Iranian people do not tolerate the opportunistic and hypocritical slogans of US officials", and "the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran establishes democratic structures for legal protection of the civil rights of the people and the possibility of pursuing these demands within the framework of the law is fully possible".^[96][97]
• Ali Shamkhani, the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said that the US, UK and Saudi Arabia were inciting riots by their use of hashtags and social media campaigns.^[98]
• The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement and pledged that the organization will closely observe "future acts of sedition" and "in supporting the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist, will allow no harm to be inflicted upon the country".^[99]
• Former Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Hamid Reza Asefi, said Saudi Arabia is seeking to exploit and misuse of what he termed "civil rallies and freedom of expression" and claimed that Saudi regime is trying to incite chaos in Iran for their own political ends. He said Iranian people and the government would never let the Saudi government or any other country to take advantage of the protests and even interfere in Iran's domestic issues. He further said the protests are not being held against the government but against economic problems.^[100]
• Farah Pahlavi, the former Shahbanu of Iran, responded in support of the protests on her Instagram and Facebook accounts. Reza Pahlavi, son of Iran's last Shah, posted a supportive message on his Telegram channel on the second day of the protests.^[96][97]
• Judiciary Chief Sadeq Larijani ordered prosecutors and law enforcement to take serious measures against rioters and vandals, warning they would be punished firmly.^[101]

Iranian author Majid Mohammadi posits three causes for the protests: government corruption, economic hardships, and religious authoritarianism. In his opinion, religious authoritarianism is the most salient target of the protests since protesters have come to believe that the Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist is bent on preserving the status-quo and not susceptible to reform.^[102]

Ali Khorram, an Iranian professor of International law, drew parallels and lessons from the 2007-08 global financial crisis and criticized Rouhani government's failure to learn from the 2007-08 crisis and support the depositors against the wrongdoings of the unregulated financial institutions before the depositors' grievance turn to public protests. "Didn't Donald Trump and Rex Tillerson vow to fight the establishment by reinforcing internal dissatisfaction? Didn't Israel and Saudi Arabia vow to take the war into the streets of Tehran? Why then the real demands of the people are not honored so that they turn into pawns in foreigners' plans? Our enemies can only exploit our internal social divides then why do we exacerbate these divides [by our own mismanagement]?", he said.^[103]

Conservative Iranian politician and economist Ahmad Tavakkoli blamed the protests on Rouhani administration's neglect of economic demands of the poor, and added "... [T]hese developments were predictable because the implementation of violent policies of International Monetary Fund, despite the objection of well-intended experts, had already resulted in social unrest back in 1990s", and that Rouhani government is pursuing the same policies. He also criticized the Rouhani government's failure to address the problems caused by non-regulated financial institutions for the average depositors.^[104]

Sadegh Zibakalam, a reformist Iranian academic and pundit, blamed the protests on the lost hopes of young educated unemployed Iranians in both the principlists and the reformists. They feel particularly betrayed by Rouhani's administration that promised change. He interpreted the pro-Pahlavi slogans as only the youths' way of expressing their anger at the establishment not indication of real support for Pahlavis. He also said that despite sympathy with protestors' grievances he couldn't endorse the way they were expressing their protests and considered them counterproductive.^[105]

According to Trita Parsi, the founder and current president of the National Iranian American Council, the main participants in these protests are different from those involved in the 2009 Iranian presidential election protests. Parsi suggests that the protestors are mainly those dillusioned with the Iranian reform movement or who never supported it. Iranian Reformists have been surprised by these protests and have not come out in support of the protestors.^[24]

International

•  Israel – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the protesters as "heroic" in their "noble quest for freedom".^[106][107] He added, "I heard today Iran's President [Hassan] Rouhani's claim that Israel is behind the protests in Iran. It's not only false. It's laughable. And unlike Rouhani, I will not insult the Iranian people. They deserve better."^[106][107]
•  Russia – Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that the mass unrest in Iran is an internal affair of the nation and hoped that the crisis will evolve without any bloodshed and violence. He also emphasized that any foreign interference in internal affairs of Iran that may destabilize the situation is unacceptable.^[108]
•  Turkey – Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said "We believe it is necessary to avoid violence and not succumb to provocations", concerning the reports of people dying and vandalization of public buildings in Iran. He also hoped that foreign interventions would be avoided.^[109] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the President of Turkey, condemned the US and Israel for interference in the internal affairs of Iran.^[110]
•  United Kingdom – Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Boris Johnson tweeted that he's "watching events in Iran with concern" and emphasized citizens' right to peaceful demonstrations.^[111]
•  United States – United States President Donald Trump responded in support of the protests on his Twitter account stating that "Many reports of peaceful protests by Iranian citizens fed up with regime's corruption & its squandering of the nation's wealth to fund terrorism abroad. Iranian govt should respect their people's rights, including right to express themselves. The world is watching! #IranProtest".^[112]
  • Nikki Haley, the current American ambassador to the United Nations, criticized the Iranian government's response to the protests and expressed support for the protestors, stating that "This is the precise picture of a long oppressed people rising up against their dictators."^[113]

Security Council Meeting

On Friday 5 January 2018 ^[114] following a request by Nikki Haley, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., an emergency meeting was held at the UN Security Council regarding the violations of the human rights of the Iranian protesters.^[115] According to Tayé-Brook Zerihoun, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, videos posted on social media platforms showed protesters being beaten, and government buildings, banks and religious centres burning. Over 1000 protesters were arrested.^[114] Nikki Haley stated the events that happened during the previous week in Iran need the attention of the world.^[115]

Although, the US overcame Russian attempts to block a UN security council discussion over the Iranian protests, it lost the Europeans support to act against Iran. While the UK, French and Germany agreed with the US on protection of the protesters rights, they used the debate to reject American efforts to make the protests an excuse for undermining the nuclear deal with Iran.^[116] Particularly, French representative François Delattre stated that the event is not a threat to international peace and security and said "It is up to the Iranians, and to the Iranians alone, to pursue the path of peaceful dialogue." ^[115] China, Russia and some other nations considered the protests as internal issue or the human rights one which does not relate to the security council, as well.^[114]

See also

• 2009 Iranian presidential election protests
• Economy of Iran
• History of the Islamic Republic of Iran
• Internet activism during the 2009 Iranian election protests
• Iran student protests, July 1999
• 1953 Iranian coup d'état

References

External links

• Media related to 2017–18 Iranian protests at Wikimedia Commons

Template:Ongoing protests Template:Anti-government protests in the 21st century