Huh:
Anti-government demonstrations that began in Iran on Thursday have now spread to several major cities.
Large numbers reportedly turned out in Rasht, in the north, and Kermanshah, in the west, with smaller protests in Isfahan, Hamadan and elsewhere.
The protests began against rising prices but have spiralled into a general outcry against clerical rule and government policies.
Anger about spending money on adventures in Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen while at home the economy continues to suffer played a role, apparently.
The demonstrations involve hundreds or even thousands in various cities, but nothing really big.
Could we be lucky enough to have the Iranians take care of the Iran nuclear problem and the empire-building mullahs?
It would be nice if President Trump said something nice about the protesters rather than embracing the Iranian regime as President Obama did in 2009 during the Green Revolution protests in order to get a nuclear deal. Which we got--good and hard.
Do the Iranian protests dwindle over the weekend or gather steam?
UPDATE: The State Department issues a statement supporting the protesters and in sympathy with the people of Iran. Tip to Instapundit.
UPDATE: The mullahs framed annual pro-government marches that commemorate the ending of the Green Revolution protests as a rebuke to the recent demonstrations.
Again, no indication that this is the start of something major.
UPDATE: More on the contrast then and now.
I hasten to add that this doesn't mean we go to war with Iran to back the protesters if they do come out into the streets in force.
What it does mean is that we validate their cause by publicly verifying the evil of the regime. It does mean that we apply pressure to lessen a violent reaction by the government of Iran.
Also, just because Iran has accused foreign elements of stirring things up doesn't mean the accusation is wrong. Saudi-Iran tensions are rising and the Saudis may want to hit back at Iranian stoking of unrest in Arab countries.
And if true, it doesn't mean that the Iranian protesters don't have real reasons to demonstrate against the mullah-run government's policies and existence.
UPDATE: It sure sounds like the protests have grown on Saturday, with some violence involved:
Protests in Iran took a violent turn on Saturday, with reports of some demonstrators being shot, as thousands took to the streets for a third day refuting economic conditions, personal freedoms and denouncing President Hassan Rouhani.
We'll see. This could just be some public venting of frustration, and if the security services remain firm the only uncertainty will be the body count and arrest count.
Although the government is worried enough to cut off internet access (tip to Instapundit):
Several reports indicate that telecoms providers in Iran have begun blocking internet access across several cities in the country as mass protests erupted for the third day in a row.
The last time the government was worried enough to cut off the internet was 2009, the article says.
UPDATE: Of course if you rely on some news outlets, you might not even know that there is the potential for something important happening.
And if "the world" abandons Iranians because Trump said kind words about the protesters I don't want to hear one damn word about the world having a "moral leg to stand on."
Anyway, as much as I would like it to be true that these three days of protest are significant, I can't say I see evidence of more than protests and government reaction. I could be wrong.
Or things could get significant.
UPDATE: If American media think this is just about jobs, they should perhaps listen to a commander in Tehran's Revolutionary Guards:
Brigadier-General Esmail Kowsari, the Revolutionary Guards' deputy security chief in Tehran, said the situation in the capital was under control and warned protesters would face "the nation's iron fist" if unrest persisted.
"If people came into the streets over high prices, they should not have chanted those (anti-government) slogans and burned public property and cars," Kowsari told ISNA.
There you go. Anti-government slogans.
But again, I have seen no indications that the iron fist isn't working.
UPDATE: As of Saturday night I haven't seen indications the protest are serious events. But is that because the media is failing? I guess I can't know.
Eventually the news will leak out even if our media is failing.
