Behind the scenes of the failed protests in Iran

WANA (Jun 24) – On Monday, the head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) released a statement that revealed that as many as 20 foreign intelligence agencies played an active role in the unrest in Iran following the death of a 22-year-old woman, Mahsa Amini last September.

Brigadier General Mohammad Kazemi made the statement in an exclusive interview with the website of the Supreme Leader of Iran- Khamenei.ir – expounding various aspects of what went on during the violent protests.

He named more than a dozen countries that have been active in this regard, including the United States, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Canada, Bahrain, and, of course, Israel.

General Kazemi said that last year, foreign intelligence services emphasized that an operation regarding mandatory hijab would be a prelude to overthrowing the Islamic Republic; therefore, focusing on this, they created a wave of opposition surrounding hijab, especially on social networks.

Kazemi added that U.S. officials devised three steps for the protests to continue, including creating an emotional atmosphere after Amini’s death, turning protests into unrest through daily strikes, and then transforming the atmosphere of turmoil into an armed movement by equipping armed groups.

General Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC). Social Media / WANA News Agency

The head of the IRGC’s Intelligence Organization also provided a list of some of the activities undertaken by foreign intelligence services during the riots, such as intense activities by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (C.I.A.) in creating necessary cyberspace platforms for disseminating news of the riots, including efforts to send technical equipment, escape tools, and lifting sanctions on mobile communication devices.

Another one was periodic joint meetings of the intelligence services of the U.A.E. and the Israeli regime in an Arab country to support the riots in Iran.

Kazemi also stressed that the enemy sought to stoke mistrust among Iranian people from various social classes and political inclinations by inducing discrimination and violation of women’s rights and the collapse of the Islamic Republic.

Last October, Iranian intelligence reported that a “global media war” was devised and carried out against Iran via social media and T.V. networks.

Acts such as Twitter and Instagram disregarding their policies to facilitate the spread of “false news” more widely were included in the report.

People attend a protest over the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who died after being arrested by the Islamic Republic’s “morality police” in Tehran, Iran, September 21, 2022. Handout / WANA (West Asia News Agency)

Several other instances were mentioned, like the fact that between September 11 and October 12, Twitter had authorized 50,000 new bogus accounts for users of the Persian language while simultaneously eliminating its own limitations, such as the time limits between posts.

It is not hidden from anyone that the countries mentioned in the statement aggressively seek to destabilize and foster insecurity in Iran through different modus operandi, and the employment of terrorism is among the tactics they have used against the country following the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

According to Iran’s High Council for Human Rights (HCHR), over the past four decades, more than 17,000 Iranians have been assassinated”. The recent unrest in Iran proved that the countries who cannot stomach Iran’s independence which came with its Islamic revolution, have left no stone unturned to materialize their destabilization strategy.

Every once in a while, some incident in the country becomes emboldened by mainstream media, creating chaos and unrest in Iran while bringing sanctions and international pressure. In contrast, the same incident wouldn’t even be considered twice in some other country. We have seen worldwide how governments kill their people every day without any reason. No one rises against those governments, even when it happens repeatedly.

The systematic riots in countries with questionable relations with the U.S. and do not “bow down” to its demands clearly point the finger at the perpetrators of these so-called protests.