Revolution in Iran

For years, whenever I have tried to learn about Iran, I have turned first to Michael Ledeen. He writes this week in FrontPage Magazine.

...The country is on fire. All classes, all tribes from the Persians to the Kurds are fighting the security forces and the Revolutionary Guards, the Basij, and an increasingly divided Hezbollah. The leaders of the regime are unrestrained in their crackdown. In order to keep their actions as far as possible from public view, the leaders have killed off the internet links with the outside world, and despite American boasts that Washington can turn on the internet at will, the regime has kept communications with Iranians at historic minima.

...They’re also demanding new job opportunities, enhanced unemployment insurance, electricity, basic services, the end of the rule of Iranian-sponsored militias, and an end to corruption and foreign rule, whether it be Iranian or American.

In the words of Rick Moran, whatever reasons were invoked, protesters in Iraq originally took to the streets to express their frustration with the government have now been tossed aside and outright revolution has become their goal.

...The same applies to Lebanon, where ongoing demonstrations are calling for an end to Iranian domination of the country. The Lebanese people want Hezbollah out, their demonstrations—largely in Beirut—demanded a clean break with the Iranian forces, of which Hezbollah is certainly a central element.

In other words, Iran is fighting on multiple fronts, against a new generation that desires an end to the Islamic Republic and a rebirth of freedom. The regime is fighting fiercely, killing significant numbers of people and arresting thousands of others.

During the internet shutdown, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asked Iranians to send him evidence of the repressive measures taken against the people. There was a significant response: almost 20,000 messages

Read more here.