A regime that has failed the people in Iran calls adversaries the "Devil"

James Robbins:
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... Iran’s foreign adventurism is one of the causes of the current troubles. The regime promised that the nuclear deal with the United States and the end of sanctions would lead to an economic resurgence. But the expected growth has not happened. Furthermore, the windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars in direct cash transfers has not trickled down to the people. Instead Iran is still subsidizing Hezbollah militias in Syria, sending missiles to Yemen, and rockets to Hamas. Hence the chants in the streets, “Not Gaza, Not Lebanon, I give my life for Iran.” Meanwhile wages are downand food prices are up. It is not a recipe for stability.

A top cleric in the holy city of Qom, Hossein Noori Hamedani, has come out in support of the economic aspect of the protest. “The people are demanding their right and we must support them,” he said. But the demonstrations have gone well beyond economics and foreign policy to question the legitimacy of the regime itself. In Khorramabad people chanted “We don't want an Islamic republic" and “Death to the dictator!” Elsewhere protesters burned a banner with a picture of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

here have been violent clashes with security forces, protesters killed, police vehicles burned, and government offices attacked. Some protesters even invoked the name of the deposed Shah of Iran.

The regime staged a rally Saturday in Tehran as a show of support, and Iran’s armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Baqeri warned his troops “will not let the devil dream of weakening and subverting the Islamic system and revolution come true.” But it wasn’t a “devil dream” that sent a young woman to a Tehran street corner to wave her head covering in defiance. Or that drove teen chess champion Dorsa Derakhshanito defect from Iran to the United States, where she could pursue her passion without surly religious police saying her clothes were too tight. Or that is compelling thousands of Iranians to risk arrest, injury and even death to stand up for freedom.

President Trump’s support for the aspirations of the Iranian people stands in contrast to his predecessor’s diffident response to the 2009 protests. Last September at the United Nations the president said that “the entire world understands that the good people of Iran want change, and … that Iran's people are what their leaders fear the most.” On Friday, Trump tweeted encouragement to the protesters, warning the regime that the “world is watching,” which was literally true until Iran cut Internet access.
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For teh sake of the world and sanity in Iran, we should support the demonstrators who are asking for freedom from an oppressive regime ruled by genocidal Islamic religious bigots.

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