"Death to the dictator" is once again echoing among Iran’s struggling population, mainly youths and women. For months, thousands of people have been protesting in various quarters, demanding justice for the plundering of their wealth by institutions tied to the "supreme leader" and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. However,
there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly...
the scale and political orientation of the Dec. 29 and 30 protests were striking and remarkable.
"The people live like beggars/(Khamenei) lives like a God," thousands of demonstrators chanted in several towns on Dec. 30.
One of the most interesting chants in Tehran’s protests Sunday was "Reformists, hard-liner, game is over now," reflecting the desire by Iranians for regime change.
On Thursday, Iran’s second-largest city, Mashhad, saw the spark of the protests. Several thousand people began their demonstrations by complaining about rising commodity prices (in some cases, food prices have seen a 20-30 percent hike in the last week alone).
Quickly, however, the protests were reoriented toward the regime’s bigwigs, including President Hassan Rouhani and supreme leader Ali Khamenei: "Death to Rouhani," "Death to Khamenei," and "Death to the dictator," the protesters chanted.
Then on Friday, the cities of Kermanshah, Shiraz, Rasht, Qom, Hamedan, Ahvaz, Isfahan, Zahedan, Qazvin, and Sari rose up, joined by a large number of smaller towns. There are several noteworthy characteristics about what has been reported thus far.
First, the political nature of the protests has been made clear from the start, although the underlying impetus was the economic situation and particularly the vast financial corruption permeating the regime.
Khamenei, as the main figure of the theocracy, has been a permanent fixture in the protesters’ slogans. And protesters continue to call on the regime to "Free all political prisoners."
Second, the regime’s main players were quick to point out that there is a leading opposition movement that can lead the protests toward their final destination: the regime’s downfall.
During at least seven Friday prayer sessions across Iran, senior mullahs pointed the finger at the opposition and other foreign governments.
The state security and anti-riot forces were out in full force, using water cannons to disperse crowds and drawing chants of "Shame on you" from crowds who refused to give up any ground.
The fearlessness, courage and leading role of women has been exceptional. Dozens of video clips circulating on social media attest to this. In one case, a woman stands in front of security forces and shouts "Death to Khamenei," an offense that could carry the death penalty
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