Iran: The Protests in Iran with chants of ‘Death to the Ayatollah’ has taken hit in the news. Though the protests were faced with counter-protests, the determination of the protesters in undoubted.
The protests remind us that young Iranians, who are better educated want their country to rejoin the World community and enjoy the liberty of watching, reading and voting in genuinely democratic elections as they wish.
But, what is to be remembered that these protests do not clearly represent the majority of Iranians and the State has formidable power from arms, military to propaganda, military to survive this challenge to thepower.
The part of the Iranian State is run by the clerics and answerable to an an autocratic “supreme leader”, Ayatollah Khamenei, rather than the civilian government that somehow tries to function alongside it.
Iran has the potential to join the group of fast emerging market economies in the world if it breaks out of ignorance and poverty.
Four decades ago, Iran saw its last revolution which collapsed the Shah’s government. This was a remarkable event in the world. But History may not repeat itself now though the present system of Iranian politics, part civilian, part clerical, and hardly free, is incapable of meeting the aspirations of its citizens.
US President Donald Trump tweeted that world is watching Iran, but he should also remember that World is watching Mr. Trump too.