Commentaries And Analysis On The Unrest In Iran -- January 1, 2018

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, Reuters: What has brought Iranian protesters to the streets?

LONDON (Reuters) - Iran warned of a tough crackdown on Sunday against demonstrators posing one of the boldest challenges to its clerical leaders since nationwide unrest shook the Islamist theocracy in 2009.

Political protests are rare in Iran, where security services are pervasive. And yet tens of thousands of people have protested across the country since Thursday. The demonstrations are the biggest since unrest in 2009 that followed the disputed re-election of then-President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

They began in Iran’s second city of Mashhad in the northeast on Thursday and spread to Tehran and other urban centers. Iranians vented their anger over a sharp increase in prices of basic items like eggs, and a government proposal to increase fuel prices in next year’s budget.

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Commentaries And Analysis On The Unrest In Iran -- January 1, 2018

The Guardian view on protests in Iran: they matter – but what do they mean? -- Guardian editorial
Iran treads cautiously as protests spread -- Michael Georgy
Iran knows how to silence protests. If only it knew how to listen -- Azadeh Moaveni, The Guardian
The Battle for Iran: Change will not come easily, peacefully, or soon. -- Karim Sadjadpour, The Atlantic
Iran's enemies would be wise not to wish for regime change -- Simon Tisdall, The Guardian
Iranian protests are complex jigsaw puzzle, say observers -- Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian
The economic forces driving protests in Iran -- Ivana Kottasová, CNN
Iranian protests raise tricky questions for US and Saudi policymakers -- James M. Dorsey, Huffington Post
Q&A: What’s happening with Iran’s ongoing protests? -- Jon Gambrell, AP
Iran Protests, Is It Different This Time? -- RadioFarda
Is austerity really to blame for Iran protests? -- AFP
The Iran Protests -- and The New York Times -- Elliott Abrams, Council on Foreign Relations
Iranians Shatter a New York Times Myth -- Sohrab Ahmari, Commentary
Timeline of Iran protests -- AFP