Following the death of a young woman detained by Iran’s morality police last week, massive anti-government protests have broken out all across the country.
According to BBC News, “Anger erupted after Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Kurdish woman from the north-western city of Saqez, died in hospital in Tehran on Friday following three days in a coma.”
“She was visiting the capital with her family on 13 September when she was arrested by morality police officers, who accused her of violating the law requiring women to cover their hair with a hijab, or headscarf, and their arms and legs with loose clothing. She collapsed after being taken to a detention centre,” the BBC report reads. “There are reports that officers beat Ms Amini’s head with a baton and banged her head against one of their vehicles. The police have said there is no evidence of any mistreatment and that she suffered ‘sudden heart failure.'”
Among the nation’s most active demonstrators voicing their opposition to the country’s ruling regime are Iranian women, who “have been heavily present in the protests” and have been documented “waving or burning their veils, or cutting their hair in public.”
“Videos shared on social media have also shown demonstrators damaging symbols of the Islamic Republic,” The Washington Free Beacon reported. “One showed a man scaling the facade of the townhall in the northern city of Sari and tearing down an image of Ayatollah Khomeini, who established Iran’s Islamist government after the 1979 revolution.”
In addition to demonstrations in the capital city of Tehran, protests have also been reported in many of the Islamic Republic’s other major cities, leading to confrontations with the government security forces. According to citizen activists, eight protesters were shot and killed Wednesday night, with Iran’s state media claiming 11 people died, including both demonstrators and state security officials.
While some Kurdish human rights organizations say 15 protesters “have died in western Iran alone,” the true number of total fatalities throughout the country remains unknown.
Joe Biden’s Hypocrisy
The outbreak of the protests has led to statements of support from members of the international community, including President Joe Biden. While speaking before the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday, Biden proclaimed his support for the ongoing demonstrations and the Iranian people in their struggle for freedom.
“Today we stand with the brave citizens and the brave women of Iran who right now are demonstrating to secure their basic rights,” he said.
While the remarks are sure to provide good fodder for America’s left-wing, corporate media to run interference for the Democrat president and distract from his failing policies, they’re a massive contradiction given Biden’s efforts to provide the Iranian government with the resources necessary to develop nuclear weapons. Since taking office last year, Biden and his administration have worked relentlessly to persuade the Islamic Republic to sign on to a new nuclear agreement after the Trump administration withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-era 2015 deal in 2018.
In addition to easing numerous sanctions that will enable the regime to fast-track the development of nuclear weapons, Biden’s administration has also restored “so-called ‘civ-nuke’ waivers,” on Iran, which would allow for “non-American companies to work on civilian nuclear projects” in the Middle Eastern country “without drawing retaliation from the US government.”
As if providing economic relief to Iran weren’t bad enough, the administration’s proposed nuclear agreement would purportedly pave the way for the Iranian regime to craft nuclear weapons much sooner than expected. During a briefing last month, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz warned that the sunset clauses of the proposed deal are “problematic” and that the accord would allow Iran “to acquire a nuclear weapon when said agreement ended in 2031.”
“Iran has gained knowledge, infrastructure and capabilities—much of which is irreversible,” Gantz said. “This will enable Iran to further expand its nuclear program during the period of an agreement that would have fewer restrictions.”
A letter signed by 5,000 members of Israel’s Defense and Security Forum was later sent to Biden in late August, urging him not to sign on to the agreement with Tehran.
At the end of the day, Biden can issue all the feel-good rhetoric about supporting the Iranian people he wants. None of it will change the actions he and his administration have taken in negotiating a horribly structured deal that will only continue to provide Iran’s dictatorial regime with the military power it needs to inflict greater suffering upon the Middle East and the Iranian people.
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