The fire of discontent had been quietly burning for years among those in Iran longing for change—but what caused it to erupt so suddenly? Is this uprising merely a response to soaring inflation and high unemployment, or is it part of a broader movement to challenge the Khamenei regime, which suppresses human rights and curtails women’s freedoms with an iron fist? The scale of the protests—arson, attacks on police stations, and attempts to storm military installations—reveals the depth of popular anger. Thousands have been arrested, and many protesters have been killed by police gunfire. What began in the city of Mashhad has now spread across the country.
This is the first time since the 2009 presidential election that widespread public anger has directly confronted the regime. The protesters’ chants speak volumes: calls for the government to step down, criticism of foreign policy, and even demands for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who maintains a tight grip on power. This is the same Khamenei who frequently issues warnings to the United States. President Donald Trump also weighed in, stating, “The great Iranian people have been repressed for many years. They are hungry for food and freedom.”
Human rights are being violated, and Iran’s assets are being plundered; the time for change has come.” Shah Reza Pahlavi, the son of the former Iranian ruler Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, echoed a similar sentiment. Reza said that the current Islamic Republic is collapsing and that the time has come to reclaim their true Iran. Reza Pahlavi is continuously calling on the people to take to the streets and participate in a national revolution. It is important to understand the significance of Shah Reza, who lives in the United States, and how his father, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, came to power in Iran. In 1951, Mossadegh, a lawyer by profession and the National Front’s candidate, was democratically elected and became prime minister; he was a very courageous leader.
At that time, Iran’s oil industry was controlled by British companies, which reaped all the profits. Mossadegh made a bold decision and nationalized the oil industry. The Western powers were naturally angered. The British intelligence agency MI6 and the American intelligence agency CIA orchestrated a coup in Iran in 1953, and the Western powers handed power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, whose family had previously ruled the country. The Shah gave a large share of Iranian oil to American companies, and this is not mere hearsay. The CIA itself officially admitted in 2013 that it had played a role in the 1953 coup.
It is worth mentioning here that Iran made significant progress during the Shah’s reign. He advanced the country considerably on the path of modernization, granted women full freedom, and Iran enjoyed a situation very similar to that of Europe. However, fundamentalists, as well as powers like the Soviet Union, were unhappy with Iran’s alignment with the United States. In 1979, the Islamic Revolution took place in Iran. Not only did the Pahlavi regime come to an end, but a group of Iranian students seized the American embassy on November 4, 1979. This group held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days. This became a source of profound humiliation for the superpower America. Ayatollah Khomeini, who came to power, declared war on the United States.
Since then, the bitterness in US-Iran relations has persisted. The current Supreme Leader, Khamenei, is following the same path as Khomeini. Iran is very close to developing a nuclear bomb, and the Western powers are willing to do anything to prevent this. Israel has assassinated several Iranian nuclear scientists. The US targeted three Iranian nuclear sites just last year. Despite this, the current regime remains determined to build a bomb, so the superpowers see the only permanent solution as the complete destruction of Khamenei’s regime. Keep in mind that there is a long-standing tradition of using discontent within a nation as a diplomatic weapon.
It’s possible this factor is also at play behind the current popular uprising. There’s no doubt that several powers, including the US, Britain, Israel, and Russia, have their own agendas in Iran. Currently, the whole world is watching to see whether Khamenei plays on the front foot or the back foot, and the question also remains whether his position will remain secure. On a different note… I am deeply saddened by the deaths of a dozen people in Indore, a city that proudly bears the title of India’s cleanest city, due to contaminated water. Even more distressing is how the system could be so negligent as to allow polluted water to reach people’s homes through the taps. And the shameful language being used by the responsible leadership is even more appalling. Does life have no value?
